A house fire at 102 North 12th St. in Charleston occurred Tuesday late afternoon displacing three residents of the home. One resident was present when the fire began and was able to escape through a second story window.

The resident home at the time of the fire was treated at the scene by the Charleston Fire Department. Upon arrival the fire department found a heavy fire.

CFD Fire Chief Steve Bennett said CFD received a call from dispatch at 4:04 p.m. for a structure fire. A bystander reported hearing a loud “boom” around 3:30 p.m. and went outside seeing the fire.

Additional crews were called in to help with the fire with Mattoon Fire Department providing additional resources. There was an estimate of 20 crews at the fire following the request for additional help with crews on duty and others working overtime.

The fire was under control within an hour and the crews on scene left around 7:30 p.m.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Rob Le Cates

The three residents living at 102 North 12 Street were displaced Tuesday evening because of a structure fire and are in contact with the American Red Cross for housing. Charleston Fire Department Chief Steve Bennet said because of the scale of the fire, a call for additional manpower was sent out and around 20 to 25 firefighters responded to the scene.

Bennett reported there were dogs which died in the structure fire.

The house sustained significant fire, smoke and water damage.

The three displaced residents are being assisted by the American Red Cross.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation at this time.

Madelyn Kidd can be reached at 581-2812 or at dennewsdesk@gmail.com.