By Howard Packowitz

NORMAL – A man escaped unharmed as flames swept through his home and damaged a neighboring house Thursday night in northeast Normal.

Normal firefighters were called to 1821 Truman Dr. about 10 p.m.

Fire Chief Mick Humer said the heaviest fire was in and near the garage.

“Between the garage, and the kitchen, and the living room, and everything, that whole area is gutted,” said Humer.

“And then the rest of the house has heavy smoke and water damage in it,” the chief added.

Humer said the fire spread to an adjacent house, but an extra layer of siding prevented more serious damage.

“We also have quite a bit of damage to the house next door. To the exposure, it burned all the vinyl siding of that side of the house,” said the chief.

“They were very lucky because they had hardwood siding underneath it, which kept the fire in check,” said Humer.

The fire department is investigating the cause.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected].