ROCHELLE — Rochelle Fire crews, along with the Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District responded to a fire at the former Del Monte building on 15th Street shortly after 10:30 Friday morning.
Firefighter/EMT Kenny Dougherty was one of the first to arrive on scene, and reported no visible flames although the entire facility, known previously as 109, was engulfed in smoke.
Chief Dave Sawlsville said workers had been using a cutting torch to remove metal for scrap, setting the wooden roof on fire from the inside.

“It’s built around the 1940s, and the fire had gotten to the outside. The roof had about four layers of roofing material and the fire got in between. We had to start peeling back the roof until we found unburned wood, which took the most amount of time,” Sawlsville said.
The fire left an eight foot by 10 foot hole in the roof causing about $3,000 to $5,000 in damages.
Crews from Hillcrest, Flagg Center and Steward along with Rochelle were on scene, while Creston covered the Rochelle station until the scene was cleared a little after 1 p.m.
There were no injuries reported.