Updated: Champaign house fire under investigation - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
CHAMPAIGN — Wayne Martin said he knew immediately there was a problem when he heard a smoke detector squealing and smelled smoke around 4 o'clock Thursday morning. Sleeping with his wife Angela in one of the three bedrooms of their rental home at 1603 Sheffield in northwest Champaign, Martin said he quickly stepped into clothing. I walked out the back door and seen the flames by the door leading to the garage," he said. Seeing that the fire was bigger than a cup of water could help, he decided to move his Mitsubishi Diamante out of the garage. "I came back in and was going to move the car out and seen fire and smoke in the garage," he said. Martin told his wife they needed to get out and called 911. Champaign Fire Chief Gary Ludwig said firefighters had the flames knocked down within 15 minutes, but not before the fire had done major damage to the garage and roof. "There's only about half a roof left," he said, estimating damage in excess of $100,000. Fire investigators from the Champaign Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal's Office spent several hours at the home Thursday trying to figure out what... Without renter's insurance, they've lost almost everything, including their car, which was not insured for loss by fire, Martin said. If there's a positive side to the story, it's that the smoke detector likely saved their lives, Ludwig said. Source: www.news-gazette.com
