Names Of Little Girls, Woman Killed In Des Plaines Fire Released

Des Plaines IL

27 January, 2021

2:24 PM

Description

DES PLAINES, IL — A house fire has claimed the lives of five members of a family — including four children under age 6 — in Des Plaines. The cause of the Wednesday morning fire was unknown as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Des Plaines Fire Chief Dan Anderson. The victims, who all lived in the home in the 700 block of West Oakton Street, were identified as Citahaly Zamiodo, 25, and four little girls: Renata Espinosa, 6; Genesis Espinosa, 5; Allizon Espinosa, 3; and Grace Espinosa, 1. Firefighters arrived at the home at around 10:13 a.m. following a passerby's report of smoke coming from the two-story, side-by-side duplex. Crews found heavy fire coming from the second story, where the bodies of all five victims were recovered, according to Anderson. The cause of death for the five victims was unknown Wednesday afternoon. "This is a terrible and tragic day for Des Plaines. In my 30-plus years of fire service, I've never seen anything like this," Anderson said. He said search and rescue efforts began when crews arrived at the home. The four children were found and immediately taken to an area hospital, where they were pronounced dead. The adult was declared dead at the scene. Anderson confirmed the five victims were family members. Anderson also said one firefighter injured his knee and was taken to an area hospital. The Des Plaines Fire Department was assisted in the effort by other area emergency crews. The fire remains under investigation. Anderson said he's not sure at this time if there were working fire alarms in the home. He did note that when crews arrived, they did not hear any. "This is not something we typically see. We're doing a debriefing with our personnel," Anderson said.