STERLING, Ill. — A fire in a Sterling, IL apartment complex left 3 people dead in the early morning on Monday, June 1st.
Sterling police say that the blaze erupted from the Western Apartments Complex on Third Street, across from the Sterling Steel Company, at about 12:25 a.m.
After officers arrived at the scene, they were alerted to the presence of people on the second floor of the building. They were able to back a squad car up to the second story window and rescue a girl out of the building.
Sterling and Rock Falls Fire Derpartments were able to enter the building soon after, discovering 3 more people in various apartment rooms. 49-year-old woman, Carrie Rose, 8-year-old Davenport girl Shayla Walker, and 13-year-old Sterling girl Celina Serrano, were all found and removed from the building. Firefighters attempted life-saving measures on all three, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.
Before responders arrived, a 35-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl were able to escape the building. They were sent to a nearby hospital before being sent to Rockford for further treatment.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.