Great-grandfather killed in early morning East St. Louis house fire
A 69-year-old East St. Louis great-grandfather died in a fire at his house in the 1600 block of North 36th Street early Wednesday morning.
St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. identified the victim as Lamar Dewalt. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:50 a.m., Dye said.
East St. Louis Assistant Fire Chief George McClellan said the call reporting the fire at the victim’s residence came in at 6:15 a.m. When crews from Engine houses 426 and 425 arrived on scene, fire was already visible from the the front of the structure, McClellan said.
It took firefighters approximately 20 minutes to extinguish the fire, the chief said. McClellan said the Dewalt was aided by the use of a cane and walker and his escape may have been hampered by a metal security door.
“We located the victim in the front of the house,” McClellan said. “The Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office is inducting an investigation to determine a cause for the fire.”
Dewalt’s daughter, Ramal Mason, said her father had spinal decompression surgery due to years of operating heavy equipment for the East St. Louis Housing Authority and struggled to walk.
She described Dewalt as a family man first; he had 11 children, 27 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren, including one who was born Wednesday morning.
“I will always remember my father as happy and always willing to help,” Mason said.
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 1:08 PM.
