BELLEVILLE, Ill. – A woman was killed in a Belleville, Illinois house fire Tuesday morning and three others were taken to the hospital.
The emergency call came in at about 6:45 a.m. for a 121-year-old home on fire in the 600 block of Rodenmeyer Avenue off McKinley. Belleville Fire Department Chief JP Penet said as crews arrived at the scene, flames were shooting out of the home. A total of four people were inside the home at the time of the fire including two adult men, one woman, and one young child. Penet said the two men were already outside the home when crews arrived. They told the firefighters that there were still people inside the home.
Firefighters first found the 3 to 4-year-old boy in a front room. The boy was conscious when they brought him outside. Firefighters gave him to the two men. Penet said firefighters went inside the home again and found the woman in the back of the home next to the kitchen. She was already deceased when they found her. Firefighters recovered her body and put her in the care of EMS. The boy and the two men were taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Penet says the child is said to be doing well, but one of the two men is still having some trouble breathing.
It’s believed that the woman who was found dead was a resident of the home. Her name and age haven’t yet been released. The home sustained major damage in the intense fire. Chief Penet says the area of greatest damage was in the kitchen.
No firefighters were hurt and at this point a cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
FOX 2’s Bommarito Automotive Group SkyFOX flew over the scene. FOX 2 will continue to update this story with more information as it becomes available.
