Conditions Of Mom, Brother Injured In Fatal Fire Are Improving

LAKE COUNTY, IL — The conditions of two of the four family members hospitalized following a fire that claimed two young girls last week are improving.

Sisters Elizabeth Evans, 8, and Autumn Evans, 5, were killed in the house fire in Ingleside Thursday night. Autopsies performed on the girls show they died from smoke inhalation, according to preliminary autopsy result

Meanwhile, their mother, Katie; grandfather, Scott; and grandmother, Dori; remained hospitalized at Loyola Medical University. On Saturday, Dori and Scott remained in critical but stable condition, Lake County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Christopher Covelli told Patch in an e-mail response.

• Funds Raised For Family After Sisters Die In House Fire

Katie has been upgraded to serious but stable condition. And the girls' brother, Cory, 17, was discharged from Condell Medial Center Saturday morning.

The girls' father, Tieg, was not at home at the time of the blaze, which ripped through the home in the 35000 block of Hunt Avenue in Ingleside late on Thursday night. When fire crews arrived at the Evans' home at about 11 p.m., it was fully engulfed in flames.

Three family members standing in the front lawn, who had suffered significant burn and inhalation injuries, told firefighters a woman and the children were still inside the residence, Deputy Fire Chief Ed Lescher with the Fox Lake Fire Protection District told NBC Chicago.

Firefighters were able to save the woman, but flames made it hard for them to get to the second floor where the girls were, Lescher said. Lescher told the Daily Herald firefighters entered the home several times in attempts to rescue the sisters but were driven back by smoke and flames.

A neighbor told the Daily Herald the girls' mother jumped from a window on the second floor as the house burned. Once the fire was under control, firefighters found the bodies of the girls in a bedroom and a hallway on the second floor.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe set up for the family has raised more than $179,000 in just three days. Late on Friday night, Tieg provided the following update on his family's condition: "Katie, Scott, and Dori are on breathing tubes because of the internal damage on their lungs from the smoke and heat. The tubes are in place to help clear out their lungs as well as keeping the air passage from possibly swelling shut. They are all stable, but not completely out of the woods. Scott and Dori are a bit more severe and will require a bit longer to heal. Katie is moderate. We are hopeful for everyone to heal and from everyone in the family we truly appreciate everyone's support through our tragedy."

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"I am not ready to talk about my precious girls because it hurts too much and I am trying to keep it together for my family. I will truly grieve soon, but for now I must stay strong. Again, thank you to everyone. I love you all so very much," he shared on the GoFundMe page.

Neighbors said the Evanses were a big and happy family and that Elizabeth and Autumn liked to play outside running, often barefoot, from yard to yard. Raul Paz told the Daily Herald his daughter, Vivianna, 9, played with the girls and enjoyed going to the Evans home when they used a projector and hosted outdoor movie nights.

"She has been crying all night," Paz said. "It has hit her the hardest."

Meanwhile, the cause of the fire remains under investigation, fire officials told the Daily Herald on Sunday. Due to the severity of the damage at the resident, authorities are having a hard time determining the case of the blaze and why it spread so quickly, according to the Daily Herald.

And they may never have an answer.

"With the amount of damage there was, it's still too early to tell," Fox Lake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Brent Connelly told the Daily Herald.