The Jacksonville Fire Department responded to a fatal house fire this morning on the city’s northeast side.
Lieutenant Curt Rueter of the Jacksonville Fire Department says the initial call for a structure fire came in for a residence at 310 East Independence Avenue at 10:30AM this morning. The front of the home was fully engulfed when initial units arrived on the scene. Rueter says that flames were showing out of the front porch and both front windows as well as the second story attic window.
Rueter says the firefighters eventually made entry into the home and did a primary search and rescue operation to see about any occupants. Rueter could not reveal if anyone was home at the time of the fire or whether anyone was discovered inside the home.
The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and members of the Morgan County Coroner’s Office were on scene at the time of this report. Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson later revealed via text message that one adult male has been pronounced deceased in relation to the fire. She says no further information will be released until tomorrow pending further investigation and notification of next of kin.
This is a developing story.