Childhood friends died during the early morning hours on Sunday, April 22 after a fire started in their Edwardsville off-campus apartment.

21-year-old Lacy Siddal and 19-year-old Lauren Petersen were students at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. Around 3:45 a.m., a neighbor noticed smoke pouring out of a window in their apartment and called the fire department. First responders found the two women unconscious in the bedroom.

Fire fighters carried both women out of the apartment. They were taken to Anderson Hospital in Maryville and later flown to St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield where both died on Monday. Officials are investigating whether or not the fire detector was working as well as for the source of the fire.

Losing a family member in a fire is devastating. If you or a loved one knows someone who has lost someone in a fire, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 for professional legal representation. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

A 12-year-old Momence boy, who was known for being caring and energetic, was killed after a fire broke out in his home on Saturday morning.

According to officials, the boy was killed before sunrise on Saturday when an intense fire broke out. His other five family members were able to escape the fire.

Fire officials stated that the fire was so intense, they were unable to stay in the home during the rescue mission. The boy’s father and brother are currently at Loyola Medical Center recovering from serious injuries.

A candlelight vigil was held for the young boy on Sunday.

Our deepest condolences are with the friends and family of the victim at this time.

The town of Tiskilwa in north-central Illinois was evacuated on October 7, 2011 when a train with 126 cars derailed. At least six tanker cars were burning.

 According to a story by the Associated Press, witnesses reported hearing several explosions.
 
The derailment took place around 2:00 in the morning about one half mile outside of the town, cause approximately 60 cars carrying ethanol to leave the tracks. Residents reported that it sounded like a jet coming over the town. The glow of the fire could be seen from several miles away.
 
There have been no reports of injuries but Tiskilwa, located 100 miles west of Chicago, was evacuated its 800 residents, many to Princeton High School. Emergency crews from Utica, Oglesby, Peru and LaSalle County were on site to put out the fire. A foam product used for putting out fires was being used as water would be ineffective on this type of fire. 
 
If you or a love one has been injured due to a train accident, call Spiros Law 815-929-9292 to learn your legal rights. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

Fire gutted a 90,000 square foot building on Grinnell Road in Kankakee that was the home to three businesses. The strong winds of Friday, September 2, 2011 propelled the fire that caused explosions and fifty foot high flames. Smoke from the fire was seen ten miles away.

The fire started in the southern section of the building that was home to River Valley Recycling around 1:30 p.m. At times the sounds of muffled explosions were heard and were thought to be caged propane tanks used at the recycling plant.

The tanks were apparently the cause of the high flames.

Kankakee Fire Chief Ron Young was told that no one remained in the building and no firefighters were hurt while containing the blaze. However, the building housed two other businesses – Tru –Cut Machinery and a tannery – that have lost equipment in the fire.

Not all workplace fires end injury free. If you or a loved one knows someone who has been injured in a workplace fire, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to explore your legal rights. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

A single “boom” on August 16, 2011, loud enough for neighbors to think a tree had fallen on their own house, indicated that an explosion had occurred at the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America plant in Herscher in southwest Kankakee County.
 
Five people were hurt in the mid-morning explosion that caused a fire. Bonfield resident Richard Wildman, 36, was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood after suffering burns and had been listed in critical condition. According to Ken McCabe, spokesman for the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office, the other four workers were treated at local hospitals in Kankakee and released on Tuesday.
 
It is unknown as to what caused the explosion and the investigation may take some time. Damon Hall, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, stated that one inspector was on site as of  Tuesday and two more inspectors were expected by Wednesday. The Herscher plant has had explosions in the past but has a clean safety record for the past ten years.
 
When explosions happen at the workplace, injuries can be long lasting.

If you or a loved one knows someone who has been injured at the workplace, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to explore your legal rights. Visit the website at wwwspiroslaw.com.

The intersection of Sunnyside and Austin Avenues in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago was the scene of a two-car accident on August 9, 2011 that left a mother and her 16-year-old son dead as well as three other children injured.
 
Claudia Delia was headed west on Sunnyside Ave to meet with another family before going up to the Wisconsin Dells. The Honda Civic contained Delia and her son, Bryan; 3-year-old son Hauk Marvin; 15-year-old step-son, Zack Marvin; and Chris Diaz, a friend of the teenage boys. Chicago resident Richard Strum was headed south on Austin Avenue in his mustang and hit the Honda. The force of impact was so strong that the Honda was pushed against a nearby light pole.
 
Strum, 35, was charged with three counts of felony aggravated DUI for causing bodily harm in an accident and two counts of felony aggravated DUI in an accident causing death according to a statement released by the police. Strum had earlier been ticketed for driving with a suspended license and operating a vehicle without insurance.
 
Neighbors rushed to help the victims in the Honda. They stated that they have complained many times to the alderman and police in regards to the intersection as Sunnyside is not a straight cut across Austin. Instead, cars must make a jog to the left across Austin in order to continue on Sunnyside.
 
Some accidents take the lives of people because of drivers on the road under the influence of substances that impair their driving ability.  If you or a loved one has lost a family member in an auto accident cause by a driver charged with a DUI, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to find out your legal rights.

Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

Five people were injured in a gas explosion that occurred this morning in a town south of Herscher.

According to the public relations spokesperson at Riverside Medical Center, three victims from the explosion were sent there after the blast.

Two of them were admitted for non-life threatening injuries and another was transported to Loyola University Hospital to be admitted to their burn unit. Two others were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee in, what is being described as, stable condition. No other injuries are known at this time.

Our thoughts are with the victims during their recovery.