Metro-East News

Residents escape Cahokia Heights apartment fire, but two dogs died

A fire damaged an apartment building in Cahokia Heights Wednesday.
A fire damaged an apartment building in Cahokia Heights Wednesday.

Several metro-east fire departments responded to a fire in the 100 block of Judith Lane in Cahokia Heights early Wednesday morning after they received a call reporting the fire at 1:44 a.m., the assistant chief of the Camp Jackson Fire Department said.

Nine people who were in four apartments in the building were able to get out safely, according to Assistant Chief Sharon Davis.

The two dogs that were inside the building died in the fire.

When firefighters arrived on scene, there was heavy fire in the attic and roof.

Davis did not know a cause for the fire and said the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire.

The Camp Jackson Fire Department was assisted by firefighters from Cahokia Heights, Columbia, Prairie Du Pont and Sauget.

The address was at the scene of a Major Case Squad investigation after two men were fatally shot on July 5.

Torian T. Hopkins, 40, and Anthony M. Andrews, 41, both of 123 Judith Lane, were declared dead at the scene of the slayings.

Both had been shot multiple times, Dye said.

Cahokia Heights police responded to the report of the shootings, along with officers from the Sauget Police Department and agents from the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis and the Metro-east Auto Theft task force.

This story was originally published September 25, 2024 at 4:00 PM.

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Carolyn Smith
Belleville News-Democrat
Carolyn P. Smith has worked for the Belleville News-Democrat since 2000 and currently covers breaking news in the metro-east. She graduated from the Journalism School at the University of Missouri at Columbia and says news is in her DNA. Support my work with a digital subscription
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