Seven children escape Highland house fire

The Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office is continuing to investigate a Tuesday morning house fire in Highland that sent seven children to an area hospital.

Two of the children remain in intensive care, according to their mother, Brittany Tucker, who was not at the home when the fire broke out at 1901 Olive St. around 10:19 a.m.

Five of the Tucker’s children were evaluated at an area hospital following the fire Tuesday morning, but their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, officials said.

“Our kids are okay,” Tucker said. “But we have two kids in the intensive care unit. They had to intubate because they had to put a breathing tube inside of them.”

Highland Fire Chief Rick Bloemker said the children ranged in ages from 4 to 19. Four of the Tucker’s kids were home from school due to illness, Tucker said.

Two of the Tuckers’ children, Keira, 4, and Christian, 5, were asleep in the house and were rescued by their 19-year-old brother, Danny, before firefighters arrived.

Tucker said she was taking her husband, Dan, to a court hearing, when Danny called her, alerting them to the fire.

“He said, ‘You need to get the blank home. The house is on fire. Where in the blank are you?’ ”

Danny told his mom he already had called the fire department.

“I told him to make sure the kids are safe,” Tucker said.

Danny also tried to extinguish the fire with a garden hose, she said.

“I don’t know what caused the fire. But it might have been the fireplace, but I don’t know,” Tucker said.

According to a press release from Highland EMS Chief Brian Wilson, all the children were transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland. All were subsequently taken to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, Bloemker said. None of their injuries were life threatening. Nine of the family’s 10 cats perished in the fire.

When the first Highland firefighters arrived, they found the children outside the home and heavy fire coming from the windows in the first-floor living room. A neighbor, who has yet to be identified, called 911 to report the fire, Bloemker said.

Tucker later found out Danny went back into the house and rescued his 4-year-old sister.

The fire eventually spread from the living room into the attic. It took about 45 minutes to extinguish. Bloemker said the home was still structurally sound, but its contents were a total loss.

“Whatever possessions they had are either smoke ridden, charred or melted,” Bloemker said.

The Red Cross has been contacted to aid the family, Bloemker said.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. The Illinois State Fire Marshal has been called in.

“We have a lot of investigating to do,” Bloemker said.

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Seven children escape Highland house fire."