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Du Quoin firefighters stay busy

Brutally cold temperatures don't stop emergency services and Du Quoin firefighters responded to two calls for service on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

The first was a reported house fire at 18 South Musselman Street at 4:40 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

"The homeowner pretty much had it out when we got there," said Du Quoin Fire Capt. Adam Hill.

Hill said a candle left burning on a toilet fell over and caught the toilet and a portion of the floor on fire. Damage was minimal and there were no exposures into the surrounding wall.

Firefighters were on scene for less than an hour and were back in service at 5:31 p.m.

On Monday, Du Quoin firefighters were toned to provide manpower to assist EMTs with getting a patient transferred to an ambulance.

Du Quoin wasn't the only department battling temperatures in the single digits and sub zero wind chills, as Baldwin, Salem, Vienna, Eldorado, Zeigler and Camp Jackson firefighters responded to various reported structure fires during the holiday.

"For a fire department, it's a constant battle in that our trucks have water on them and when we have an actual fire, things freeze so much quickly, so that it's a big safety hazard for everybody," said Hill, who noted dehydration is also a problem in that situation. "We try to rotate guys around to get them into heated areas."

The Hecker Fire Department, in rural Monroe County, received the first southern Illinois call of 2018 just after midnight Monday. Firefighters assisted Millstadt EMS with a medical emergency, according to the Southern Illinois Fire Incidents' Facebook page.