Effingham Fire Leads to Arson Investigation
Tuesday, 12 November 2019
Effingham Police say an apartment building was intentionally set on fire.
Crews were called to the structure in the 300 block of South 4th Street around 2:45 Monday afternoon.
Firefighters found heavy smoke and an active fire on two rear floors once on-scene.
After a quick entry to check for possible victims, crews were pulled from the structure and a "defensive fire attack" was initiated.
They say the weather hampered their efforts to extinguish the blaze, and they were on scene until seven that night fighting hot spots.
"We had a lot of very cold firefighters on the scene, and I commend them for their hard work in extinguishing the fire," said Effingham Fire Chief Bob Tutko.
"We also had a lot of equipment to thaw out and clean up afterwards."
Tutko thanks local business owner Alec Ring who opened the doors to his business to provide a warming area for the firefighters.
No injuries were reported in the blaze.
Authorities say 26-year-old Joseph Wrischnik was taken into custody on scene and booked in jail for arson.
Wrischnik is expected in court Wednesday.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal is investigating.
