DES PLAINES (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Investigators are continuing to work to determine what caused a house fire late Wednesday morning in Des Plaines that left a woman and her four young daughters dead.
The mother, 25-year-old Citahaly Zamiodo, was upstairs in the home divided into apartments with her four daughters: Renata P. Espinosa, 6; Genesis A. Espinosa, 5; Allizon V. Espinosa, 3; and Grace Espinosa, 1.
The five were found on the second floor of the two story residence located in the 700 block of Oakton Street, Fire Chief Dan Anderson said.
Related
According to Anderson, when firefighters arrive, they encountered flames and heavy smoke coming from the second floor. Firefighters began to battle the fire and attempted to rescue the people inside. The four children were taken to local hospitals where they were pronounced dead. The mother was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pabel Marreno, who lives on the first floor of the now-burned-out building, told CBS 2 at first, firefighters struggled to get in. They had trouble getting through the locked front door. He watched as firefighters carried the bodies one by one.
“All of the sudden, one fireman comes out carrying one of the kids. There were four kids up there,” Marreno said. “Mom and the baby are not coming out. Mom and the baby are not coming out.”
Marreno told CBS 2 he was not aware there was a fire upstairs until someone passing by banged on his door.
“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,” Anderson said.
The family said they have a lot of questions surrounding the circumstances of the fire, and were waiting to hear much more from investigators.
Related
Firefighters encountered heavy smoke among the fire, suggesting the victims were trapped, but no one heard screaming.
It is not clear if there were any working smoke detectors. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Neighbors said that the father of the children was at work when the fire started.