Man dies in fire at East St. Louis house that initially was reported to be vacant

A fire at a house in on North 25th Street in East St. Louis claimed a young man’s life early Friday.

The victim’s identity has not been released.

A person who was inside the house when the fire started was able to jump out of a window to safety.

Ed Wayne, assistant fire chief of the East St. Louis Fire Department, said a call came in at 3:17 a.m reporting a fire at a structure at 571 N. 25th street.

“Upon arrival, fire crews saw the structure was fully involved,” Wayne said.

The house was initially reported as being a vacant structure, but firefighters soon found there were people inside.

“The call came in as a vacant structure fire,” Wayne said. “ A lady jumped out of a window. We learned later that someone else was inside with her.”

The house is a two-story wood frame structure. It was engulfed when firefighters arrived, with flames shooting out from it.

The roof burned off the house.

There was no electricity nor gas hooked up to the house.

“No utilities were on the house,” Wayne said.

The fire was out by 6:30 a.m. Part of the shell of the house was left standing, though essentially it was gutted.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Wayne said.