Published: July 03, 2008 02:23 pm      

Two dead after early morning house fire

By TESA CULLI and KANDACE McCOY

Register-News

MT. VERNON — Two people died in an early morning fire Thursday, with the victims identified as 32-year-old Sarah Rollinson and 35-year-old Vernon Lee “Juggy” Cutt Jr.

According to Mt. Vernon Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Sargent, an autopsy has confirmed that both died as the result of smoke inhalation caused by the fire.

Sargent said the fire was reported at 4:42 a.m. Thursday, and when firefighters arrived on scene at 4:47 a.m., they encountered heavy smoke and flames coming from the residence. Initial reports indicated that adults and children were still inside the home.

“Firefighters attempted an interior attack when they arrived but were forced out due to the heat and flames,” Sargent said.

It was determined that the children who were reported as being in the home were safe, with two of them at their father’s home, one with a grandparent and a fourth, a relative, going home with his parents Wednesday night.

“When we located the children, we switched recovery efforts to investigation efforts,” Sargent said.

The home, located at 6 Parker Lane, is owned by Kendrick Vaughn, and it has not been determined how long Rollinson and Cutt had lived at the residence.

The MVFD responded to the blaze with 12 units and 16 firefighters. In addition, Litton Ambulance and chaplains from the county were called in to assist.

Sargent said the initial call of the fire was made by a neighbor who was awakened by an electrical outage. When she looked out the windows of her home, she saw the flames coming out of the residence and made the emergency call.

One victim was located just outside the bedroom and the other just inside the bedroom doorway, Sargent said. The Illinois state fire marshal is continuing the investigation into the cause of the fire, although the fire investigation is centering on the basement area of the home, Sargent reported.

Two firefighters went to the hospital in the early moments of the fire — one with a back injury, who has been treated and released, and the second with heat exhaustion, who is still being treated at the hospital, Sargent reported. Sargent said it took about two hours to bring the fire under control and another 30 to 40 minutes to attack hot spots remaining.

“Any time you have a fatality, all the guys feel the effects of it,” Sargent said. “... Today they were unable to save lives, and it’s hitting them hard. ... We all express our deepest sympathy to the families.”