EDWARDSVILLE - An elderly man died in a fire in the 3400 block of Glen Oak Drive in Edwardsville on Monday morning, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Edwardsville Fire Department confirmed Monday afternoon.
David Vucich, Madison County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Detectives, said the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Madison County Coroner's Office, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and Edwardsville Fire Department are investigating the death.
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“There was a fire Monday morning in Edwardsville and it resulted in a fatality,” Vucich said. “There were no signs of foul play or anything of a suspicious nature. It is a bad accident that is still under investigation.”
Multiple area fire departments, led by the Edwardsville Fire Department, responded to a Box Alarm call around 10:28 a.m. on Monday in the 3400 block of Glen Oak Drive in Edwardsville. The home on Glen Oak Drive is near the Wood River city jurisdiction.
Edwardsville Deputy Fire Chief James Whiteford said water had to be hauled because of a lack of fire hydrants in the area of Glen Oak Drive. Whiteford said the man who perished in the fire was in his 70s.
"Holiday Shores and Hamel Fire Departments hauled water for us," Whiteford said. "The lack of water hydrants added another layer of coordination, but Holiday Shores and Hamel Fire Departments who responded quickly with water trucks."
The initial scanner call said the fire started in the deck and spread to the rest of the house.
When firefighters arrived about half of the back of the house was already on fire and it was a difficult fire to battle from the start. The firefighters had to knock that part of the fire down to get to the front.
Edwardsville Fire Department was the lead group on the scene, but the Glen Carbon Fire Department, Wood River Fire Department, and the Madison County Emergency Management Rehab Unit were present. Holiday Shores Fire Department, Hamel, Troy, and Maryville were also called to assist.
No other details could be released at this time about the victim or cause of the fire.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
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