EARLVILLE – An early morning electrical fire kept emergency crews from Earlville and surrounding departments busy for several hours on Friday, as they worked to extinguish the blaze which gutted a rural farmhouse on Borden Road just North of the Madison County line.

“The call came in at 6:33 a.m.,” reported Earlville Fire Chief Robert Tracy, who said the residents of the home – Jen Brown and Carrie Hartz – were asleep on the second story when the fire broke out. They awoke to a strange smell, he said, and when they investigated, discovered flames coming from an electrical outlet at which time they called 911.

Tracy said the rear of the structure was already heavily engulfed in flames when he and his crew arrived on scene shortly thereafter. By the time responders were able to extinguish the blaze, the interior of the house was “pretty much totaled,” he said.

The fire rekindled at approximately 10:30, the Earlville chief reported from the scene at approximately 11:30 a.m. At that time, his crew was working with members of the Hamilton Fire Department to remove the tin roof from the structure in order to prevent further rekindling.

According to Tracy, the Madison County fire investigator determined the fire to be “electrical in nature,” and had originated in the home’s wiring during a brownout which had left the area without power for approximately three hours the night before.