3 dead, 1 injured after house fire in north Chicago suburb
CHICAGO (CBS) — Three people died and one person was injured after a house fire in north suburban Zion overnight.
The fire broke out just before midnight in the 2900 block of Enoch Avenue. Zion Fire Chief Justin Stried said strong winds initially made fighting the fire difficult, and crews spent four hours battling the flames.
Stried said crews were told several people were trapped inside the home. Stried said the structure of the house also made it difficult because it's an older home with "void spaces that are hard to get to."
One woman was rescued and three people, who were on the second level of the home, did not survive. A relative said his mother, sister, and uncle died in the house, which has been in their family for a long time.
The Lake County Coroner's Office identified the three victims as Scott Copen, 58, Gina Copen, 54, and Cristal Copen, 41. Autopsies results indicated all three died from thermal injuries and injuries consistent with smoke inhalation.
A neighbor was also taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation.
Stried said it wasn't clear if the house's smoke alarms were working properly. Crews did not hear alarms when they arrived, he added.
Two neighbors told CBS News Chicago they heard a loud boom before they saw flames.
"Something went boom!" said neighbor George Gregory. "Just like that."
Gregory said he heard the loud noise coming from his neighbor's house next door. He thought his brother had fallen, but then walked outside and saw orange flames glowing inside his neighbor's house.
"We stepped out here and then we saw the fire and he went back and got his phone and called 911," Gregory said.
The Illinois State Fire Marshall has been called in to help with the investigation. It was unclear exactly what started the fire.
