Mother, Four Daughters Under The Age Of 6 Dead In Illinois House Fire

KEY POINTS

The fire erupted at around 10:30 a.m on Thursday
The deceased were the occupants of the second floor in a four-story building complex
Authorities are working to determine the exact cause of the fire

A young mother and her four daughters, including one as young as one-year-old, have died Thursday in a tragic fire inside their house in Illinois.

The incident took place at around 10:30 a.m ET at a house in Des Plaines, which was split into four apartment units. Officials with the Des Plaines Fire Department said the deceased lived on the second floor.

Firefighters responded to reports of smoke billowing from the house. Upon storming into the property, they found the 25-year-old mother and four daughters, aged between 1 and 6, dead, according to a statement by the fire department.

The mother was pronounced dead at the scene and deputies transported the children to a local hospital where they were pronounced deceased.

“In my 30+ years of fire service, this is the most difficult scene I’ve responded to. Any loss is tragic, but losing four young children is truly heartbreaking for our department and the entire community,” Des Plaines Fire Chief Daniel Anderson said in the statement.

“We know this can be traumatic for our personnel. We’ve offered additional resources to help our personnel during this time. We also want to thank our neighboring fire departments for their support in responding to this incident.”

The children’s father was at work when the incident took place, ABC-affiliated WLS-TV reported.

"There was nothing we could do. There was nothing the police could do. There was nothing the firefighters could do," Pabel Marrero, a neighbor, told the outlet.

"We're telling them, 'There is [sic.] kids up there, kids up there," Marrero recalled telling the firefighters. "They're trying to kick the door down, but the door wasn't coming down … one of the firefighters comes out with one of the girls in his hand and she's blackened by all the smoke and all the stuff. She is semi-conscious. A minute or two goes by, there's another one that comes out in the same condition."

The fire department is currently investigating to determine the exact cause of the fire.