ROCHELLE — Seven residents were displaced by a fire at a duplex on 2nd Street on Tuesday afternoon, Rochelle Fire Chief Dave Sawlsville said. 

Rochelle Fire was called at 4:39 p.m. to 508 N. Second St. for the report of a house fire. The call was elevated to box level and all Ogle-Lee Fire Protection District departments (Creston, Steward, Hillcrest and Flagg Center) responded as well. No injuries occurred due to the fire, Sawlsville said. 

The fire was contained to one side of the duplex. When Sawlsville arrived on scene, he saw heavy fire and smoke blowing out the back of the building and the fire spread from one room to the entire unit. Rochelle’s engine crew arrived and put out a lot of the fire right away, Sawlsville said. The fire was under control after about 40 minutes. 

There was nobody home in the unit at the time the fire started and the situation went unnoticed until it started to show outside, Sawlsville said. Residents were home in the other half of the duplex but were sleeping before getting out safely. 

The non-burned half of the duplex sustained smoke and water damage and those residents were displaced. The Red Cross is helping to secure a place for residents of both units to stay, Sawlsville said. 

The burned half of the duplex was a complete loss and will have to be rebuilt, Sawlsville said. He estimated the total damage cost to be at least $50,000. Fire crews were on scene for about three hours after the fire was put out to check for hotspots and investigate the cause. 

“It was a very hot, intense and fast-moving fire,” Sawlsville said. “It melted the electrical boxes behind the duplex. It started in one of the back bedrooms, but we’re still unsure of the cause and trying to figure that out. We don’t think it was suspicious.”