4 children, 2 adults killed in house fire outside Dixon
A family of six were killed Nov. 21, 2017 in a house fire outside Dixon in rural Illinois. (WLS)
Updated 1 hr 50 mins ago
DIXON, Ill. -- Six people were killed in a house fire early Tuesday in rural northern Illinois, the Ogle County Sheriff's Office said.
WIFR-TV in Rockford reported that the victims include two parents, four children, a cat and a dog.
All four children were enrolled in Dixon Public Schools; two were high school students, one was in middle school and the youngest was in elementary school, the district confirmed.
The district has had counselors and support staff in place at all schools for students. Tuesday was the last day of school before holiday break. Support staff will be available when students return, a school official said.
Police received a 911 call just after midnight Tuesday reporting smoke in the basement of a home outside Dixon in the unincorporated community of Lost Nation, the sheriff's department said. Firefighters arrived to find "a fully engulfed residential structure fire," the sheriff's office said in a news release.
Capt. Isaac Demmig of the Dixon Rural Fire Department said it was impossible for firefighters to enter the house until the fire was brought under control, but when they did go inside they found that all six occupants of the residence were dead.
Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVinkle said autopsies are planned and authorities didn't immediately know the ages of the children.
VanVinkle said authorities don't see anything suspicious about the fire and are investigating the cause along with Illinois State Fire Marshal and Illinois State Police
He said the roof of the home collapsed and there wasn't much of the residence remaining after firefighters put out the blaze.
Ogle County Coroner Louis Finch said the bodies were so badly burned that his office will need dental records to determine identification.
First responders from 10 fire departments responded to the blaze, according to Demmig.
VanVickle described Lost Nation as a subdivision in a woodsy area with a lake in a very rural and remote part of the county. The home is about 90 miles (150 kilometers) west of downtown Chicago.
WLS-TV contributed to this report.
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Four children and two adults, all members of the same family, died in a house fire early Tuesday in rural northern Illinois, Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said.
Police received a 911 call just after midnight Tuesday reporting smoke in the basement of a home outside Dixon in the unincorporated community of Lost Nation, about 100 miles west of Chicago, the sheriff's department said. Firefighters arrived to find the home “fully engulfed” in the blaze.
Authorities haven't found anything suspicious about the fire, VanVickle said. The ages of the children haven't been released and autopsies are planned, he said. Ogle County Coroner Louis Finch said the bodies were so badly burned that his office will need dental records to determine identification.
VanVickle said the home's roof collapsed. He said a few walls were left, “but there's not much remaining of the residence.”
Capt. Isaac Demmig of the Dixon Rural Fire Department said it was impossible for firefighters to enter the house until the fire was brought under control, but when they did go inside they found that all six were dead.
First responders from 10 fire departments responded to the blaze, according to Demmig. He would not say where in the house the bodies were found. The sheriff's office, Illinois State Fire Marshal and Illinois State Police are investigating the cause of the fire.
VanVickle described Lost Nation as a subdivision in a woodsy area with a lake in a very rural and remote part of the county.
“I've talked with some of the neighbors and it's a typical Midwest community where most people know their neighbors and are friends with them,” VanVickle said.