It appears Mother Nature is to blame for a fire in Pinckneyville that killed a young firefighter. It also destroyed two businesses on the town square.

The official cause of the fire is listed undetermined. But, Ron Ridgeway, the owner the Antique Mall says there is a consensus by investigators that lighting is to blame. He says since that day they've worked tirelessly to clean up the mess left behind.

From the windows of her saloon, Sarah Sconce watches as Ridgeway and his wife continue to work to remove the crumbled remains of their business.

"If you look toward the back of the building it's almost cleaned up, you know they are really working hard to clean it up and they're going through it as they are doing it too and there's a lot of brick," Sconce said.

The fire destroyed the Historic Opera House and the Antique Mall.

PINCKNEYVILLE, IL (KFVS) - An 11-year-old boy was injured after he was hit by a car Monday afternoon in Pinckneyville.

It happened about 3:13 p.m. when the boy ran onto the W. Water in front of the Dollar General store and into the path of an eastbound vehicle, according to the Pinckneyville Police Department.

He was hit and sustained major injuries.

The boy was taken to a St. Louis hospital.

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(KFVS) - The Southeast Health WebCast on KFVS12 has announced its fifth season fall schedule that starts Friday, August 26 with the Gateway Tech vs. Sikeston high school football game live from Sikeston High School.

The new fall schedule runs through November and will include several Southeast Redhawk sports, parades and a high school football game of the week series.

“Each week we’ll feature a high school match-up that we think will be a top game of the week,” said Mike Wunderlich, Director of Operations and Executive Producer of the WebCasts.