Funds Raised For Family After Sisters Die In House Fire

INGLESIDE, IL — The Lake County Coroner's Office has identified the sisters killed in a house fire in Ingleside Thursday night as Elizabeth Evans, 8, and Autumn Evans, 5.

Autopsies performed on the girls show they died from smoke inhalation, according to preliminary autopsy results. Meanwhile, their mother, grandfather and grandmother are hospitalized at Loyola Medical Center in critical but stable condition, according to a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the family.

Their father and teenage brother, who was training to become a firefighter, are in stable condition, according to the GoFundMe, which has brought in $120,000 in just 22 hours.

A dog named Abbey and a cat named Apple died in the fire as well.

"Please help this family in their time of need," GoFundMe organizer Bridget LaVelle wrote. "They will have many obstacles to overcome in the wake of this great tragedy, any help in this time of need is appreciated."

The two-story home was fully engulfed in flames about 11 p.m. when fire crews arrived at the Evans home, in the 35000 block of Hunt Avenue. 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. Fire officials say two of the four adults were in critical condition and were airlifted to Loyola Medical Center, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Neighbors say the Evans family was happy 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."

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but arson has been ruled out, fire officials told the Chicago Tribune.

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