Des Plaines-area couple killed in fire

Firefighters found the bodies of an elderly couple inside their home near in unincorporated Maine Township Monday morning while putting out a fire.

Philipose and Aleykutty Yohannan were discovered at about 10 a.m. on the first floor of their duplex at 9000 block of Home Ave. near Des Plaines, authorities said.

The couple's daughter-in-law escaped the fire. She lived there with her husband.

Neighbor Ron Marcus, who lives in the adjoining home, heard screams while in the shower Monday morning and rushed out to see what the commotion was about.

He said the couple's daughter, Shiny Philips, was frantically trying to get back inside the house because her parents were trapped inside.

Marcus said he saw flames coming from the lower level window by the living room.

"We tried to put out the fire, but it was too big," he said.

He then called 911.

Rescue crews arrived within minutes but the couple were already dead, said North Maine Fire Protection District Fire Chief Rich Dobrowski.

Marcus said the daughter said she was sleeping when the fire broke out. He said he believed the elderly couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning, but authorities did not confirm that.

"We're not really sure what the actual cause of death was, but it was obvious that they succumbed to the fire," Dobrowski said.

The fire was extinguished quickly before it could spread from the rear of the duplex to an adjoining unit. Much of the damage was limited to the first floor, but did not breach the common wall. Investigators are still trying to determine the fire's source, Dobrowski said.

The family, originally from Kerala, India, and believed to be in their 70s, had been living in the home for nearly 10 years, Marcus said.

They were members of International Pentecostal Church of God Hebron Gospel Center less than two miles away off Ballard Road. Some family members and friends were congregating in the church parking lot Monday afternoon trying to figure out what to do next.

"They were nice people," the Yohannans' son-in-law Biju George said, fighting back tears. "They were treating me as their son. They lived their life according to the word of God."

Cook County Sheriff's Police are investigating, as is normal procedure for such fires, spokeswoman Lisa Gordon said.

The Cook County medical examiner's determination of cause of death isn't expected until Tuesday, Gordon added.

Funeral information were still pending late Monday.

• Staff writer Eric Peterson contributed to this report.