Three kids among 5 dead in Garden Prairie house fire as firefighters continue harrowing search for missing residents

FIVE people, including three children, are dead after a fire destroyed a home early Monday morning in Boone County. 

The fire happened around 2:30 in the morning in Garden Prairie, Illinois, said fire officials. 

WREXA fire in Boone County killed five people, including three children[/caption]

WREXIt was initially believed that only two people had died until fire officials gave an update[/caption]

It was initially believed that two people had died with six others hospitalized from injuries related to the fire. 

However, an update from fire officials confirmed that five people in the home had died.

The three children who died in the fire were students in the Belvedere School District. Their names are Aniela Tatman, Zofia Tatman and Danika Tatman.

The ages of all five victims were 9, 13, 14, 20 and 24.

Six people remain hospitalized and their conditions are unknown at this time, however, authorities said that at least two people suffered from smoke inhalation. 

A house, shed and three vehicles caught fire, leaving the occupants inside the home trapped.

Due to bad weather conditions, it took the first firefighters 16 minutes to arrive at the scene. The nearest fire station was also unmanned, said Chief Brian Kunce of Boone County Fire District #2.

According to Kunce, it took twice as long as it would normally take for emergency crews to arrive.

“We had six patients right off the bat that we had to tend to at the same time,” he said.

A Boone County Sheriff’s Deputy also suffered injuries while responding to the fire.

“We had fire blowing out of pretty much every window,” said Kunce. “The Sheriff’s Department, when they arrived on scene, they were trying to attempt rescues and they were assisting the victims prior to our arrival.

An investigation is underway by the Illinois State Fire Marshal and local authorities to find out the cause of the fire.

WREXDue to weather conditions and an unmanned fire station, it took firefighters 16 minutes to arrive to the scene[/caption]

WREXAn investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire[/caption]