Monmouth Airport Hangar Burns; Eight Airplanes Destroyed

There were 10 aircraft inside the hangar, valued at $750,000 when the fire began. Of those, eight were destroyed.

By Nick Vlahos

Source Journal Star, Peoria, Ill. (TNS)

Oct. 28, 2019

2 min read

MONMOUTH — A fire early Friday at Monmouth Municipal Airport resulted in the destruction of at least eight airplanes, according to authorities.

The blaze began not long before 6 a.m., when the Monmouth Fire Department received a report about heavy smoke emanating from the airport hangar and main office.

By the time firefighters arrived, flames had engulfed the hangar.

There were 10 aircraft inside the hangar when the fire began. Of those, eight were destroyed, according to Ken Helms, the Warren County emergency coordinator.

The value of the 10 planes was more than $750,000, a fire-department news release stated.

GateHouse Media Illinois reported private parties owned nine of the planes, and the airport owned one. It wasn't clear if the airport-owned plane was among those destroyed.

Nobody was injured. It took about three hours for the fire to be brought under control.

The Illinois State Fire Marshal was investigating the cause.

Among agencies that assisted Monmouth firefighters were departments from Abingdon, Alexis, Avon, Biggsville, Cameron, Kirkwood, Little York, Oquawka, Roseville, Smithshire and Swan Creek.

The Monmouth Police Department and Galesburg Hospital Ambulance Service also helped.

Monmouth Municipal Airport opened in 1921. According to the Monmouth city website, the airport is the oldest continually operating one in Illinois.

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