Cause of fire is undetermined

Smoke pours from the upstairs window of the Gail and Debbie Shugars home in rural Princeton. The Tuesday structure fire caused extensive damage. It has been ruled an accidental fire. (BCR photo/Terri Simon)

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PRINCETON — A house fire on Tuesday is being ruled as an accident.

At 11:20 a.m. Tuesday, the Princeton Fire Department received the emergency call from a person driving by the rural Princeton home of Gail and Debbie Shugars, located at 20662 1950 East Street.

The fire department arrived on the scene to find smoke billowing from the two-story farm house.

Princeton Fire Chief Gary Hanna said the house suffered extensive structural damage on a first-floor attached porch and in the kitchen. Damage also was incurred on the second level, the attic and in the basement.

As firefighters battled the blaze, Deb Shugars arrived on the scene, holding a small dog and saying other animals were near the burning structure. Three more dogs were rescued, and one cat remains unaccounted for.

After calling in an investigator and the state fire marshal’s office, Hanna said the cause of the fire is undetermined.

“It was not suspicious; it was an accidental fire,” he said. “It was strictly an accidental fire. There were smoke detectors in the house, but there was no one home to hear them ... Fortunately nobody was home, but unfortunately, nobody was home because the fire got a pretty good start (before the fire department got there).”

Besides Princeton, other emergency departments responding to the fire included those from Ohio, Wyanet, Bureau, Manlius, Malden, LaMoille, Walnut and Tiskilwa and 10-33 from Spring Valley. The Bureau County Sheriff’s Department also assisted. Illinois Power and the American Red Cross were on the scene.

In a press release from the American Red Cross, it noted that the Bureau County Red Cross was assisting the family with shelter and clothing.