Families grieve after two die in Keeneyville fire

Steven Elliott's family said he was trying to make ends meet since being laid off from a local steel plant last year.

Elliott, 32, had been taking on shifts at AMC Theater in Warrenville, his family said, before he died Monday afternoon in a Keeneyville house fire that killed another person and injured four others.

"He was working there until he got called back (to the plant)," said his mother, Susan Smith of West Chicago. "There were three people renting the house together so they could afford it."

DuPage County Coroner officials said Elliott could not escape from a basement window in the two-story home at 24W630 Lawrence Avenue, but they did not release an official cause of death pending autopsy results. The house is southeast of Gary Avenue and Lake Street near Bloomingdale.

Lori Ann Breese, 37, also tried to flee from a second-story window, but officials said she struggled to get through. The coroner's office was working Tuesday to determine if Breese was killed by the fire or by injuries after falling out of the window.

Also injured in the blaze were Cesar L. Euan, who authorities say lived in the home; Edith L. Hernandez of Bolingbrook; an 11-year-old girl; and a 5-year-old boy. Euan was taken to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood and was released. The other three were taken to Adventist GlenOaks Hospital in Glendale Heights and later released.

The children were being assisted by American Red Cross of Greater Chicago with food, clothing, shelter and counseling services.

Breese's mother, Marjorie, said the young victims were Breese's children and lived in the home with Breese and her sister. It's unclear if the sister, Susan, owned or rented, but Marjorie Breese said Lori had moved in with her.

Marjorie Breese lives in Florida and was heading home from a visit with her daughters when the fire broke out. She was traveling with her daughter Susan.

"Lori stayed here because the children were in school," Marjorie Breese said. "My grandchildren are here with us now. It's devastating. We're trying to figure out everything now."

Steven Elliott was also a parent, but family said his son lives in Missouri. Elliott's sister, Anna Wojcik, said her family will organize funeral arrangements Wednesday.

"We're still just in shock," Wojcik said.

As both families deal with their grief, officials are still searching for clues on what started the blaze. The sheriff's office and the DuPage County Fire Investigation Task Force are investigating the cause.

Bloomingdale Fire Chief David Christensen said early indications show the blaze, which engulfed the home at 1:45 p.m. Monday, was accidental.

He said it's unclear why the six people in the home were unable to escape without injury.

"Currently, the investigative teams are looking at it as being accidental, but that's all I can say about that right now," Christensen said.

Firefighters could not tell if the home, engulfed when they arrived, had smoke detectors or code violations.

"If it did have detectors, they were probably melted off, and we won't know until the investigation is complete," Christensen said.

Firefighters first responded Monday after a report of people jumping out the windows of the house. Breese was found unresponsive outside the home, while her children, Euan and Hernandez were found at a neighbor's house.

Jessica Sicurella, 21, who lives down the street from the house, first noticed commotion when her dog started barking.

"My dog was barking like crazy, so I ran upstairs to yell at her," Sicurella said. "I opened up the door and saw one big black stream of smoke going up. At first I thought it was a neighbor's chimney."

Sicurella saw firefighters running by the house screaming "Is anyone in there?" and no one answered.

• Daily Herald staff writers Lee Filas, Christy Gutowski and Aimee Shak contributed to this report.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=339265">Keeneyville fire victims identified; cause believed to be accidental <span class="date">[11/23/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>