‘I opened the garage door and saw flames’: Shiloh residents escape as home is destroyed

A fire destroyed a Shiloh home Tuesday morning but everyone was able to safely escape the blaze.

Firefighters responded to the home at 3402 Chippewa Drive near North Green Mount Road after getting a call for help at 9:05 a.m.

By the time the first fire truck arrived at 9:11 a.m., the fire had spread from the garage to the kitchen and the second floor, according to O’Fallon Fire Department Chief Brad White.

Brandon Weathers was working at home when the fire started.

“I was on a work call downstairs and I just started smelling smoke,” Weathers said.

At first he thought his wife, Jessica, was cooking something.

“Then I saw smoke coming from under the garage and I opened the garage door and saw flames,” he said.

Weathers got everyone out of the house and called 911.

“I don’t know what caused it,” he said.

White said an electric bike in the garage may have been the cause of the fire.

Neighbors reported they heard a loud boom and then smelled smoke.

Weathers had the home built two years ago.

The O’Fallon Fire Department responded because its jurisdiction includes Shiloh.

O’Fallon was assisted by firefighters from Fairview Heights and Scott Air Force Base on the scene while Lebanon and East Side firefighters provided backup. A representative from the American Red Cross also was at the scene.

A fundraising and meals donation page has been established at mealtrain.com to assist the family. By 4 p.m. Tuesday, nearly $4,600 had been raised and four people had signed on to provide meals. The page describes the family as “huge Christ followers” and “very generous, loving people.”

This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 12:05 PM.