Tragic fire kills six in Aurora, including three children
Pascual Vazquez woke up in the early hours Sunday morning to the sound of screaming.
Vazquez, a third-floor resident of a 10-unit apartment building in Aurora, opened his apartment door and saw black smoke billowing through the hallway.
“So I went to my window, and climbed out,” he said, adding that he grabbed a wire to help with his descent. “I just wanted to get out.”
Vazquez lost his home in Sunday's fire, but counts himself lucky. Six of his neighbors, including three children, lost their lives.
The fire broke out in the white stucco building at 760 Claim St. shortly after 4 a.m., Aurora Deputy Fire Chief John Lehman said. Three adults — two women and a man — died from injuries suffered in the blaze. They were in their 30s or 40s. The children who died were all boys — a 9-year-old, a 6-year-old and an 8-month-old.
The Kane County Coroner's office was not releasing the names of the victims Sunday, pending notification of family members.
Alicia Velazquez, in a brief interview on the scene, said one of the dead was her nephew, Francisco Marcos. She identified three other fatalities as Micaela Perez, Marcos' wife, and two of their children, Jose Francisco and Francisco Jr. A third child, Teodore, survived and was released from a local hospital after treatment Sunday afternoon.
“I would never wish this on anybody,” a teary Velazquez said. “They were a good family. It hurts.”
Micaela Hernandez, who visited the scene Sunday with her 10-year-old son, Jose Luis Carillo, who went to school with Jose Francisco Marcos. Carillo said they became friends on their first day of classes.
“He was very smart, friendly, quiet — a good person,” Hernandez said. “Everyone in school knew him.”
In addition to the fatalities, 12 people were injured in the fire. Among those hospitalized was a 2-year-old girl transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, which has a regional burn center, officials said. Others were transported to Provena Mercy Center Hospital in Aurora, Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, and Delnor Community Hospital in Geneva. A Rush-Copley official said five fire victims were treated and released at the hospital and a sixth was admitted in good condition.
Lehman said the fire started in a two-bedroom apartment occupied by eight to 10 members of the same family. From there, flames and smoke spread into a common area, then up an open stairwell, Lehman said.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, flames had already spread from the first floor to the upper levels. Lehman said firefighters were able to rescue several residents who sat at their windows, trapped.
One of those residents was Maria Avilés, who lived on the second floor of the building. She woke at 4 a.m. because of the smell of smoke. When she opened the door to her apartment, panic set in.
“I was shouting, ‘Please help me! My sons are in here,” Avilés recounted.
Firefighters put a ladder to the apartment window so that Avilés and her sons, ages 15 and 8, could climb down safely.
Lehman said authorities believe that all those killed in the blaze lived in second- or third-story apartments with front doors that had been opened during the fire, allowing smoke and heat to pour in.
The family living in the apartment where the fire started escaped unharmed and was cooperating with investigators, Lehman said. A cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The building's owner, Jose Ayala, traveled to Aurora from his home in Wisconsin after learning about the fire early Sunday morning. Ayala said fire officials did not immediately give him details on the blaze.
“It's a tragic thing,” he said. “I'm still trying to get information about it.”
The building last was inspected in June 2010, at which time no safety violations were found, Lehman said. There were working smoke detectors in the common area, he added, but inspectors were still checking individual units. At least 35 people lived in the building, he said.
Laura Renteria, whose family members lived in the apartment where the fire started, said her cousin, Elva Renteria, escaped the fire with her child and was “in shock” Sunday morning. Her cousin said she awoke to black smoke in the apartment and fled with her child, but didn't see where the fire had started.
“I don't think it had really sunk in for her yet when we spoke,” Laura Renteria said.
The apartment building appeared most heavily damaged on the first floor, and flames did not penetrate the structure's roof. Curtains and blankets, apparently used by residents to escape the blaze, were hanging out windows. A wooden crib was visible in a second-floor window.
Many displaced residents found shelter and counseling in Bautista Emanuel Church, just a few doors down from the apartment building. Friends and neighbors brought donations to the church throughout the day.
Working with the church were representatives of the American Red Cross.
“In a horribly tragic fire like this one, we make ourselves available to help make sure people get the services they need,” Red Cross spokesman Josh Morton said.
Jeanette Jaquez lives on Claim Street just a short distance from the apartment building. She said she walks by the building frequently, and the people who lived there liked to do things together.
“It had a real community feel,” she said. “Every time I walked by there, it seemed like several of the people were out, having a good time together. I liked that. When I heard what happened, I just started praying.”
Connie Zepeda also lives nearby.
“My husband saw all the lights and everything when he walked our dogs this morning,” she said. “It's so awful. This was a real community, you know? How do you go back to normal when something like this happens?”
Aurora police and fire officials remained on the scene into Sunday evening, assisted by Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office and investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said ATF agents usually get involved in fires with the scope of Sunday's blaze.
Ÿ Daily Herald staff writer Tara García Mathewson contributed to this report.