An early-morning house fire in Kankakee County in Chicago today took the life of a 12-year-old boy and sent his 10-year-old brother and father to the hospital, according to authorities. Continue reading after the jump.
Firefighters were called by neighbors to the 100 block of Harvard Street in Momence at 2:34 a.m., Momence Fire Protection District Chief Monty Buchanan said.
“I think they (neighbors) did what they could,” Buchanan said. “The dad tried to get back in to get the others. That’s why the dad went to the hospital.”
Upon arrival, firefighters saw “heavy fire blowing up the front of the house,” Buchanan said.
The 12-year-old was asleep in the upstairs bedroom, he said.
“We led an aggressive and offensive attack, but it just got the best of us,” he said.
Buchanan said he didn’t know if the home had smoke detectors.
The extent of the injuries to the father and 10-year-old-boy was unknown. The identities of the victims were not released as of Saturday afternoon at the request of the family, Buchanan said.
The father of five and his 10-year-old son were taken to Provena St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee. They were later transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Buchanan said.
The mother and three other children are staying at a neighbor’s house, he said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
