WOODSTOCK, Ill.- A fire at an apartment complex in Woodstock, Illinois, killed one person and displaced dozens of others Tuesday night. Around 10:15 p.m., a fire broke out in the two-story building on the 700 block of St. John’s Road, near Hickory Road.
According to officials, the quickly spreading fire damaged 12 of the building’s units. Firefighters battling the fire requested more units when it was elevated to a fifth alarm.
Crews battled the flames for over two hours.
“Preliminary investigations indicate the fire began in a first-floor unit,” said Woodstock Fire Rescue District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha. “The building lacked both a sprinkler and central smoke alarm system, contributing to the rapid spread of the fire throughout the two-story complex.”
The fire left one man with life-threatening injuries. Fire authorities said he was transferred to Northwestern Medicine Woodstock Hospital, where he died.
He is 54 years old and named Douglas Webster. An autopsy will be done on Webster’s body on Thursday.
One woman described how she almost had to jump from her balcony because the fire was spreading. Jaicia Walden was filled with worry as she considered her options.
“I was thinking I’m going to have to jump and possibly break bones,” she told me. “I’m not the fittest person.” She thought quickly, looking around for something to throw out the window and land on if she jumped.
“I tried to get my mattress, but it was very hard to get off the second floor,” she told me. “So I waited for the firemen—not long at all with the ladder.”
Firefighters pulled Walden from her balcony.
Walden subsequently captured video of flames pouring through the roof of the structure she formerly called home.
“everything’s unbelievable how quickly everything increased with the smoke. That’s what surprised me, because when I first opened the door, I didn’t believe it could get any smokier than it was, but when the police officer ordered me to go knock on my neighbors’ doors, I went back,” she explained. “Just 30 seconds, that’s all it took, and it was just pure black.”
Walden claims she is numb.
“I’ve had a lot of deaths in the family—my boyfriend of 12 years, my dad,” she exclaimed. “So, I’m really—this just happened. I’m not sure what else. I cannot give up.”
The American Red Cross is assisting roughly 30 residents displaced by the fire. Residents can find shelter at St. John Lutheran Church. A witness told CBS News Chicago that she observed apartments completely engulfed in flames as people attempted to leave, along with pets and cats.
“A lot of people just lost everything,” neighbor Cassandra Janis stated.
The Woodstock Fire Department has declared the apartment building unlivable. The cause of the fire is being investigated. The building’s damage is estimated at $1.5 million.
While the entire tale is awful, firemen did have some positive news to give. They discovered three cats amid the wreckage who had somehow survived in a second-floor flat.
They were reunited with an appreciative owner.
