The Vandalia Fire Department was on the scene of a house fire on Tuesday night. Vandalia Fire Chief Keith Meadows says they were called out about 6:10 pm to the house fire in the 500 block of South 8th Street. Meadows says that fire was coming out of an upstairs window and was visible from St. Louis Avenue upon arrival just a couple of minutes later. Meadows says firefighters quickly knocked down the fire from the outside before making entry and gaining access to the second story bedrooms. Meadow says the home is a rental property that is owned by Randy Pryor of Vandalia. There were two occupants in the house at the time but they were in the living downstairs and did not initially hear the smoke detectors upstairs. They were informed by neighbors their house was on fire. Meadows says that 22 firefighters were on the scene for about 90 minutes and another hour at the station cleaning hose and filling air packs and putting all the tools back on the trucks. He adds that Vandalia Police Officers redirected traffic on 8th and St. Louis Avenue, allowing the Fire Department to lay hose to a hydrant at the corner of 8th and St. Louis Avenue.