Woman, 57, Dies In Mysterious Black Road House Fire

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Fire Department said a 57-year-old woman was killed during an overnight house fire on Black Road. The Will County Coroner's office identified her as Yvette A. Easterling.

A Joliet Fire Department ambulance responding to an emergency call spotted the house fire around 2 a.m. Thursday. Firefighters responding to the call found a single family home on fire at 816 Black Road.

Fire Chief Greg Blaskey said Easterling was found during a search of the home. The small, white house is less than two blocks away from Joliet's busy Six Corners intersection at Raynor Avenue.

"This victim was pulseless and not breathing," Blaskey said. " Crews performed life-saving treatment and transported the woman to Amita Health St. Joseph's Hospital, where she passed away. There were no other occupants in the home at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation."

Easterling was pronounced dead at 3:40 a.m., the coroner's office said.

The Joliet Fire Department said that Easterling lived at the house by herself. There were no other guests or visitors at her house at the time of the fire.

The fatal fire's cause is considered undetermined at this stage, Joliet's fire chief said.