Several news outlets have stories about this morning’s house fire in Arlington Heights that claimed three lives.
Three adults died when a fire broke out in a home in Arlington Heights overnight, according to authorities.
Emergency crews were called to the two-story brick house in the 300 block of South Dunton Avenue around 3:20 a.m., Police Cmdr. Mike Hernandez said. The call was prompted by a police sergeant who smelled smoke while driving in the area.
Police had been in the area, but by the time firefighters arrived, the fire had spread through the single-family home, Ericksen said. There were no smoke detectors sounding when responders arrived, though the fire department said it wasn’t clear if smoke alarms were present.
As crews were arriving, part of the building collapsed. “It collapsed right when we arrived, a portion of the rear on the second floor,” Ericksen said.
Responding firefighters found a female victim in a downstairs bedroom who they removed from the burning house through a window. She was pronounced dead at the scene, the fire officials said. Two other victims were located inside and were also pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators from the Illinois State Fire Marshall’s Office and the Arlington Heights fire and police departments were on the scene, a standard response for fatal fires, Hernandez said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office was sending an investigator to the scene.
It’s still unknown where or how the fire started, but the most extensive damage is to the back of the three-bedroom house. One corner of the second floor has collapsed, said Arlington Heights Police Capt. Richard Niedrich. “Right now, there is nothing pointing to us that it’s obviously suspicious, that shows it’s suspicious,” Hernandez said. “It’s a death investigation until we know more, until we know the origin of the fire, the cause.”
Investigators are still on the scene of a house fire in Arlington Heights that killed three people overnight including the elderly woman who owned the home.
Arlington Heights Fire Chief Glenn Ericksen said the victims were all found on the first floor of the two-story Cape Cod home on the 300 block of South Dunton Avenue.
When firefighters arrived at 3:20 a.m., fire had engulfed the home and parts of the second floor had collapsed onto the first floor.
They removed an unconscious female victim through a downstairs bedroom window, who was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. When firefighters were able to enter the home, they found two other victims near the front door, who were also pronounced dead at the scene. One of the victims was buried in rubble from the collapsed second floor, according to a police source.
The fire was discovered by a police sergeant on patrol who smelled smoke around 3:15 a.m. near the police station at Arlington Heights Road and Sigwalt Street and sent officers looking for the source.
No smoke detectors were sounding when they arrived to see fire and heavy smoke coming from the home. It is unknown at this time if any smoke detectors were present within the house, police said.
It appears that the fire started in a back bedroom, police Cmdr. Mike Hernandez said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Ericksen said investigators have no reason at this time to believe the fire is suspicious.
“It’s very sad,” Ericksen said “We’ll do the best job we can do determine why this happened.”
Officials have not yet been able to identify one of the victims, so they are withholding all three names for now, Hernandez said.
Autopsies will be performed on Thursday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Frank Soprano, who runs an Arlington Heights accounting and tax firm, said Wednesday afternoon the homeowner was one of the three victims.
Soprano, who had been handling the woman’s finances, described her as an elderly lady who lived there for many years.
