A fire early Sunday at an empty home on Marquette Street injured two firefighters, sending one to the hospital.
The Peoria Fire Department received a call about 12:50 a.m. of a fire coming from the basement of 2616 W. Marquette St. Firefighters arrived at the scene and, believing that there were residents inside, entered and began to fight the blaze.
Heavy smoke and an extreme amount of items cluttering the home made it difficult for firefighters to move through the rooms and to find the basement, where the fire was believed to have originated, the fire department said.
Firefighters were ordered out of the house until the basement could be found. But after regrouping, they noticed firefighter Blaise Steffen was missing.
Steffen was found near a basement window. He had fallen through the first floor into the basement and then had pulled himself to the window in an attempt to escape the worst of the heat.
Firefighters pulled him to safety through the window. He was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center before being transferred to the burn unit at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. He was listed in good condition Sunday evening.
Another firefighter injured his elbow while exiting the building. He stayed on duty and did not receive medical treatment. His name has not been released.
The house had been vacant since the recent death of its owner, and family members had been over to go through belongings, according to a neighbor cited in a police report.
