An early morning fire tore through a St. Louis area apartment, killing five children Friday.
Firefighters located two deceased children in one of the bedrooms of the East St. Louis, Illinois apartment. Rescuers found three other children dead on the kitchen floor. All five were between 2 and 9 years old.
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“They are blameless in this. They’re just kids. It’s tough,” said assistant fire chief George McClellan.
The assistant chief said the children’s mother left the apartment to pick up a friend. When she returned to the multi-unit building, he said, she repeatedly tried to go inside and save them. Other families who lived there escaped unharmed.
“You can only imagine what this mother and father are going through right now. It’s a tough day,” said fire chief Jason Blackmon.
“We want people to take fire seriously,” he continued, encouraging people to ensure their smoke detectors work, unplug unnecessary electronics, and refrain from burning candles unattended.
A former building resident told several outlets there were no working smoke detectors when she lived there.
“Today the East St. Louis School District is grieving the loss of three students and their younger siblings,” the district said in a statement. “We send our sincere condolences to the family as they cope with this tragedy.”
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