The blaze began during the early morning hours at a farmhouse in rural Garden Prairie, Illinois, in Boone County, according to ABC 7 Chicago. The local sheriff’s office was alerted to the situation at around 2:20 p.m. Garden Prairie is located roughly 67 miles northwest of Chicago.
The five siblings, ages 9, 12, 14, 21, and 25, were the only fatalities reported from the fire. The county medical examiner has not yet disclosed their identities to the public. Six other people from the scene suffered injuries, with one being a sheriff’s deputy who suffered a minor injury to his hand. At least two people remain in critical condition at the burn ward of a nearby hospital from their injuries, including the mother of the five dead siblings and a brother.
Sheriff’s deputies were able to reach the scene of the fire in roughly seven minutes, by which time the house was fully engulfed in flames. It took firefighters 16 minutes to arrive, however, owing to poor weather conditions and the fact that the nearest station was unmanned at the time, Boone County Fire Protection District #2 Chief Brian Kunce explained to ABC 7 Chicago.
“Fire was blowing out of every window (and) three vehicles were on fire,” Kunce described.
Kunce said that it took “dozens” of first responders from multiple stations to get the fire under control. At one point, one of the brothers attempted to go into the home and rescue his siblings but was only able to help his baby niece.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family by Leona Tatman, who describes herself as “the mother and grandmother of the family that lost their home, possessions and, unfortunately, their lives.”
According to Tatman’s post, the names of the deceased siblings were Manny, 25, Elizabeth, 21, Danika, 14, Zofia, 12, and Aniela, 9, while the mother and brother are Jennifer and Raymond, 20. She said that Raymond was the brother who ran back into the home to try and save people.
“Aside from the irreplaceable loss of their children and siblings, the surviving family members have lost everything,” Tatman wrote. “The home they lived in and loved, the memories, pictures, and every single possession they owned, including their automobiles. We thank the surrounding firefighters, EMTs, law enforcement officers, and all other first responders for coming to our rescue. This is a catastrophic event for our family to lose five members at one time.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the GoFundMe page had raised over $31,000 with a goal of $250,000.
Newsweek reached out to the Boone County Sheriff’s Department for comment or update on this story.
