CENTRALIA, IL — Centralia Firefighters, with mutual aid by the Centralia Fire Protection District, and at the main station by the Sandoval FPD, battled a vacant house fire in the 1000 block of Bond on Centralia’s southwest side Monday night starting just after 7:00 p.m.

Firefighters were able to quickly knockdown the blaze on the main floor of the house and check for potential occupants, but the fire had made its way into the attic and burned through the roof.

The flames spread quickly due to sub-zero northwesterly winds and firefighters had to take defensive action to keep it from catching the home immediately to the south on fire, which they successfully were able to do with no or little damage.

The occupants of the house had reportedly been evicted by the owner recently and the home was in the process of being sold.