Des Plaines Fire That Killed Mom, Four Daughters Started On Second Floor Stairway, Near Space Heater
DES PLAINES (CBS) – The apartment where a mother and her four daughters were killed in a fire had a long history of maintence code violations and complaints. While the cause of the fire remains undetermined, a space heater was located at the top of the second-floor stairway, where the fire started.
These findings were contained in a detailed review of the response to the fire on Jan. 27, which was released on Tuesday.
According to the report, the fire was on the second floor of a 104-year-old structure that was once a single home. It had been divided into four apartments about 50 years ago before the property was annexed into Des Plaines. As such, the apartments were allowed under city code.
The fire killed 25-year old Cythaly Zamodio and her four daughters Renata Espinosa (6), Genesis Espinosa (5), Allizon Espinosa (3) and Grace Espinosa (1). Two people from another part of the home were rescued by two police officers and a passerby and were not injured.
The property, in the 700 block of Oakton and registered by the city as a rental unit, is owed by Manuel Espinosa, the husband and father of the victims. There was a long history of complaints about the property by residents and neighbors; including illegal burning, unregistered vehicles, and debris. The city last inspected the home in 2018 and it met all requirements, including the proper number of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
The report also provided a detailed timeline of the fire response.
According to the report, first signs of smoke were spotted from a rooftop video camera. Five minutes before that, at 10:02 a.m., there was a bright flash detected on the video from the second floor of the home. The first 911 call was answered at the Wheeling 911 center at 10:10 a.m., possibly because the call came from a cell phone. The call was transferred to the "RED Center" which issued the dispatch for the fire at 10:13 a.m. Police and firefighters arrived three to four minutes later. At 10:19 a.m., firefighters attempted to enter the stairway to the second floor, but had to put out the flames first before gaining entry at 10:21 a.m. to search for victims.
The second-floor stairway was the only exit to the ground from the apartment.
The five victims were found between 10:30 and 10:32 a.m. They were all in the same bedroom of the apartment. Other firefighters tried to enter the home through second-floor windows, but smoke and fire prevented them.
The report found that the fire was likely burning for several minutes before the first 911 call.
"The report concludes the [Des Plaines Fire Department] operated professionally, bravely and effectively," according to the executive summary. Firefighters and other first responders from Mount Prospect, Rosemont, Park Ridge, Bensenville, Prospect Heights and Elk Grove assisted.
"In my 30-plus years of fire service, this is the most difficult scene I've responded to. Any loss is tragic, but losing four young children is truly heartbreaking for our department and the entire community," Des Plaines Fire Chief Dan Anderson said at the time of the blaze.