No injuries after fire tears through vacant Aurora apartment buildingon March 2, 2021 at 3:40 pm

A vacant apartment building in Aurora was destroyed in a blaze that put firefighters on the defensive Tuesday morning in the western suburb.

Although initial reports indicated a person was trapped inside, the building was actually empty and no one was injured, Aurora Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Rhodes said.

The fire spread quickly through the three-and-a-half story wooden frame apartment building in the 200 block of West Downer Place, Rhodes said.

Neighbors called 911 about 7 a.m. after noticing the fire, he said. Firefighters saw smoke billowing from the home soon after they left the station and found flames shooting from the side of the home when they arrived.

“It was a pretty labor-intensive fire,” Rhodes said. Firefighters were forced to exit the home a couple times when the fire became too dangerous, he said.

“We were ultimately able to get back in there and put out the fire,” he said.

Crews were still on scene at 9:30 a.m. at the home, which Rhodes said was a total loss.

Neighboring homes were undamaged by the flames, he said.

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