Top, firefighters work to contain the Monday night fire that took down the Ogle Hotel and displaced approximately 30 residents. All residents were evacuated safely, however a few pets were lost in the fire that started in the basement and spread quickly to the attic. (Photos by Keith Peters)

ROCHELLE — Nearly 30 residents were displaced from their home after a late night fire Monday took down the more than 100-year-old Ogle Hotel, 323 E. Second Avenue, in Rochelle, owned by Felicia Ogundipe, of DeKalb.

Rochelle firefighters responded to the call of flames showing from a basement apartment at the building at approximately 10:07 p.m. Upon arrival, firefighters saw flames blowing from an east window of apartment #3.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames in the apartment but then noticed smoke at the roof.

“It is obviously an old building so it was not built to meet current (building) codes,” Rochelle Fire Chief Tom McDermott said. “There were no sprinkler systems in the building.”

McDermott added that because the building had blown-in insulation, the flames quickly spread from the basement apartment, through the walls and up to the roof.

“At that point everyone had gotten out of the building and we worked on the fire externally,” McDermott said.

Two people were transported to Rochelle Community Hospital for treatment of minor injuries related to the fire.

The American Red Cross was quickly notified and helped place residents for the night in other local hotels. Some residents chose to stay with friends or family. According to reports 11 families were served with immediate aide, including housing them, filling prescriptions and providing $11,000 in funds for their care.

“There was about $200,000 loss in property damage and about $50,000 loss of contents,” McDermott estimated.

Rochelle Fire was assisted on the scene by the Hillcrest and Flagg Center fire departments.

“We received exemplary help from other city departments on the scene, including the police department, the public works department who had endloaders to help push debris out of the way, the water department who ensured our pump supplies were sufficient and the utilities department who took down power lines that were in our way,” McDermott said. “And Tony Milburn, Rochelle Police Department dispatcher, was able to assist us by notifying the proper personnel when we needed it.

As of press time Tuesday morning the cause of the blaze was not yet known.

One of Rochelle’s oldest buildings, the building has served as a mill in the 1860s and 1870s and later housed a creamery.