EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Three children had to jump out a window to escape an apartment fire in East St. Louis Saturday morning.
Firefighters said they got a call at around 6:30 for a fire at the building on the 500 block of St. Louis Avenue.
East St. Louis Assistant Fire Chief Derrick Burns said three children had to jump from the building before firefighters arrived. People on the ground used a blanket to catch them. All three were taken to the hospital.
When firefighters did arrive, they rescued two adults from the roof of the building and worked to put out the fire.
The apartment building is about 20 feet from the MetroLink tracks, and the nearest fire hydrant was across the tracks. Because of that, firefighters requested MetroLink to stop service in the area until the fire could be put out.
As of 11:30, the fire was still causing MetroLink delays. For updates, check the MetroLink Twitter page.
This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
