SPRINGFIELD — Fires at two separate vacant houses left the Springfield Fire Division stretched thin for part of Friday evening.
Assistant Fire Chief Matt Smith told News Center 7 that two fires broke out on Rice Street around roughly the same time around 4:30 p.m.
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We spoke with Smith outside of the fire in the 500 block of Rice Street, where the house had heavy fire coming out of every window.
He said the abandoned house was previously marked with a red “X” by the city’s Code Enforcement Division. The marking meant that the house was unsafe to enter, so crews did not enter when they arrived on scene.
“There’s nothing for us to save so we’re gonna stay outside and fight the fire from the outside,” Smith said.
The second fire, near the 600 block of Rice Street, was started by a mattress on fire in the basement. Crews were able to put that fire out quicker than the other.
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Smith said between the two fires, almost every on-duty firefighter in Springfield was on scene of the two fires. He said another chief had to try and assemble off-duty firefighters to help in the event of another call.
Both fires were believed to have been intentionally lit. Officials are asking anyone with information about the fires to contact the Springfield Fire Division at (937)-324-7615.
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