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EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (Fox2Now) – Five children died in an East St. Louis apartment fire Friday morning.
Assistant Chief of the East St. Louis Fire Department George McClellan said the fire started when the mother of the five children went to pick up another adult from work. When the mom returned home, the fire had already started. She tried to run into the building herself and get the children, but she was unsuccessful. The fire started at about 3:45 a.m.
When fire crews arrived at the scene located at 29th Street and State Street, they found two adults outside of the home, and five children were reported inside of the home. All five children have the same mom.
Four children were pronounced dead at the scene. The fifth child died on the way to the hospital.
Firefighters found two children in a bedroom. The other three were found in the kitchen. The children’s ages range from 9 years old to 2 years old.
The building is an apartment building. Those involved in the fire all lived in one unit inside of the apartment building. Firefighters did not see anyone in the other occupied units inside of the apartment building.
It is unknown at this time how the fire started.
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