By Rachel Engel
PEORIA, Ill. — A firefighter was injured while battling a large brush fire.
Members of the Peoria Fire Department were called to extinguish a fire in a wooded area, believed to have started in a pile of old timber, Battalion Chief Scott Strum told 25 WEEK.
Firefighters had control of the blaze within five minutes, but it took an additional 30 minutes to fully put out the flames, due to “wooded terrain and complicated access to the fire,” forcing crew members to use a 100-foot ladder to attack the fire from above.
A PFD firefighter injured his ankle during the efforts, and was taken to a local hospital. He is expected to be OK.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.