Person in custody after Blue Island house fire damages multiple buildings
The fire erupted near 2038 Vermont St., damaging an adjacent home and business, Vanessa's Beauty Salon. City spokesperson Tom Wogan would not disclose the name of the person in custody or how the fire started as of Monday afternoon.
'The gentleman who is in custody does have some burn injuries,' Wogan said Monday.
The man was being treated at a hospital and has not been charged, Wogan said. One firefighter who responded was also treated for heat exhaustion and another refused medical care, he said.
Wogan said no inhabitants of the home were present when the fire began. Two cats, a ferret and a dog were rescued, though the dog, a German shepherd, escaped and has not been found, fire Chief David Haywood said.
'Our guys got him into a yard, but with all the chaos and stuff, they might have opened the gate and he might have got out,' Haywood said.
The family was offered housing support from the Red Cross but declined, opting to stay with family, Wogan said.
Families and individuals sat in nearby yards and on front steps Monday morning, shaded by umbrellas with the temperature above 80 degrees, as firefighters continued cleanup efforts into the afternoon, preventing traffic on the Vermont Street.
Edward Castellano said police woke him early Monday morning, banging on the door of his home next door to the house where the fire started.
He said a little before that, he believed he heard a loud sound but wasn't sure if it was a dream.
'I was in a deep sleep, and I thought I heard a boom, an explosion,' Castellano said.
He said he guessed it could have been a car crash or something more minor than a house fire.
Catellano, 55, said his home, where he lives alone, is uninhabitable due to damage to its foundation. He waited Monday morning at a neighbor's home across the street's front steps for his sister to pick him up.
He said he felt sad recalling memories of his home that was passed down through relatives. He also said he regularly got his hair cut at Vanessa's Beauty Salon, which was vacated Monday afternoon.
'My grandparents lived there, and I grew up in this house too,' Castellano said. 'After school, I'd go there and watch cartoons and drink coffee with my grandfather, spend a lot of time there.'
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