CAHOKIA, Ill. — A family was able to escape after a fire in a vacant home spread to their house overnight in the Metro East.
Firefighters responded to the fire on the 500 block of Mildred Avenue just after midnight Monday.
Sarah Hardin said she had been sleeping when her 1-year-old dog Eda woke her up by barking.
When she looked outside, she saw flames pouring out the window of the vacant house next door. She and her parents were able to get out of the home, along with her three dogs.
“Everybody was able to get out OK," Hardin said. "I’m just very thankful that my puppy woke us up, because Lord knows what would’ve happened if she didn’t wake us up."
Firefighters from the Cahokia, Camp Jackson, Prairie Du Pont, Columbia and Dupo fire departments assisted with the fire, which destroyed both homes completely.
“Everything else materialistically we can replace, but I had pictures of my grandfather that passed away in January. They are are not replaceable,” Hardin said.
Neighbors at the scene said they are frustrated because the vacant house has caught on fire before and should have been torn down before something like this happened.
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