GRANITE CITY, Ill. – Three people died and four others were injured after an apartment fire in Granite City Thursday afternoon. Some of the residents had to jump from the building to save their lives.
First responders were called to the intersection of East 23rd Street and Kate Street at around 12:45 pm for the apartment fire. Several people had jumped from the second story of the building.
There were 15 people who got out of the seven-unit building. Only two of them were children. None of them are in critical condition. The names of the three victims who died were not released Thursday evening, but the fire chief said one was a female and the other two were males.
Joseph Marshall, who lives in the building, told FOX 2 that the second and third floors have extensive smoke damage. He was related to several people who live in the building and several of them were injured during the escape.
“The third floor, which is where my oldest son lives, they had to jump out the windows and got broken bones out of it,” said Marshall.
He said all their belongings were destroyed in the fire.
“Right at Christmas, lost everything. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said Joseph Marshall. “I know everyone lost everything in the building. Nothing has been saved. All of our clothing, sentimental pictures, everything.”
Chandra Wagner Marshall was one of the survivors who said the fire spread quickly. The longtime apartment resident said she lost everything.
“I started hollering for everybody to get out,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking about trying to get my stuff. It just came from nowhere.”
The American Red Cross was on the scene offering help to survivors.
The Illinois State Firemarshalls office will be conducting an investigation into the fire. Firefighters have not yet determined where the fire started in the building. The identities of the victims are expected to be released after their families are notified of the deaths.
