Photo by kconnors via morgueFile.com
At 9:15 p.m., deputies and units from Salem Fire/Rescue are responding to the report of a house fire in the 12000 block of 256th Avenue, Salem.
This address is on the north side of Rock Lake.
UPDATE 9:38 p.m. — Personnel at that scene report everyone is out of the house. Minor injuries to one occupant.
UPDATE 10:01 p.m. — We Energies responding to the scene.
UPDATE 10:22 p.m. — At least oner person from the house transported to the hospital by rescue.
I heard the sirens last night near my home (but decided to try and tune it out as there seems to have been an increse in sirens this holiday season). But when sirens kept going by one after another for seemed like a half an hour, I relented and turned on my scanner out of concern for neighbors I might know that could be in awful trouble. I listened for about a quarter of an hour, and heard, what I think was Tom Seep say, calmly too (how does he do that?!) “we need to get that gas valve shut off…” I thought, gas valve? Not good! Then I heard what sounded like Mike Slover, (calmly but with some urgency) say something about excessive smoke, his voice appearently muffled by a mask. Then more talk regarding what other firefighters had to do that sounded dangerous. It sent a shiver up my spine knowing someone’s home might be wiped out by fire, and fire fighters I knew and some I’ve only seen on occasion were facing. How do our firefighters in the face of danger stay so calm? It made me think, (that brief snapshot in a time of crisis) how well our firemen went about protecting others. We really ought to do a better job as a community to recognize how much our firefighters do for us. It was so very cold last night! And their familes, it cannot be easy knowing your loved one is risking their life for another. I hope everyone is alright or will be soon!