Midnight fire in Newark
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Newark volunteer firemen were summoned to an 11:46 p.m. house fire at 313 Hoffman St. last night. The single-family home is owned by Debbie Van Auken who was not at home at the time of the blaze.

When firemen arrived, the house was fully charged with heavy smoke, which soon turned to flames. Firefighters said that flames were leaping from every window of the two-story structure.

Nearby homes were threatened by the intensity of the blaze, but the efforts of the 50 firefighters under the direction of Chief James Murphy, confined the fire.

Chief Murphy called for help from the Lyons Fire Dept. Fast Team, whose job it is to protect the firefighters assigned to enter the building. Fairville and Marbletown Fire Departments also were called for stand-by duty.

Newark's new thermo-imaging camera was used for the first time during this emergency. Firefighters were able to use the new technology to search the house during times of heavy smoke.

The Fire Department was called back into service at 2:41 a.m. and 11 a.m. Wednesday for rekindles.

An investigation is in progress.

(Photos by John Zornow and Fire Police Captain Scott Stell)