Belleville family escapes early morning house fire that destroys home
A woman says she, her 2-year-old child and her boyfriend lived in the upstairs apartment, while her sister and parents lived downstairs.
An early morning fire in Belleville destroyed a home and displaced a family of six people.
Belleville Battalion Chief Tom Escott tells News 12 they got a call around 3:20 a.m. Monday about a fire on Ligham Street. He says everyone in the house was outside and uninjured.
Escott says a live power line came down on one of the fire trucks, but no firefighters were injured.
Interview with Belleville Battalion Chief Tom Escott
Firefighters were still putting out hot spots when News 12 arrived shortly after 5 a.m.
A woman says she, her 2-year-old child and her boyfriend lived in the upstairs apartment, while her sister and parents lived downstairs. All were inside when the fire started.
Fire video courtesy of the Veloz family
“Everyone was just sleeping. Thank goodness my sister saw all the smoke and hollered up the stairs get out of the house. There’s a fire and just without thinking to grab my daughter. We just ran out, run down the steps and by the time I got down the stairs, the house was already covered in smoke,” says Alexis Arrietta.
Arrietta says they all escaped on their own and were not hurt. She said she was in good spirits despite the damage and told us she was happy everyone was OK. “The whole community has come out and given us blankets and shoes. We ran out—we had no shoes—so the community has really showed up for us. I really appreciate everyone on Ligham Street.
There was no word on what caused the fire.
