EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- -- Two Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students were critically injured in an early Sunday morning fire in an off-campus residence at 648 Hillsboro Ave., the Edwardsville Fire Department reported.
The names of the two women have not been released but their families have been notified.
They were first taken to Anderson Hospital in Maryville and then flown to St. Louis hospitals.
Firefighters were dispatched at 3:42 a.m. after a next-door neighbor saw the blaze at the older, two-story home. Firefighters found moderate smoke coming from the second floor of the residence that had been renovated for apartments. Once inside, firefighters found an active fire in one of the bedrooms and quickly located two female victims in another room.
The cause of the fire is under investigation but preliminary results indicate a laptop computer sitting on the bed was plugged into a power strip along with other electrical devices at or near the point of the origin of the fire.
While the investigation continues and reports are not finalized, it initially appears that the cause of the fire was accidental and absent of any suspicious activity.
A representative of the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal joined Edwardsville investigators to determine the cause of the fire. Investigators are also checking for the presence of and the operational capabilities of required safety devices including smoke detectors.
Additional information may be released within the next week.
Edwardsville firefighters were assisted by the Wood River, Glen Carbon, Holiday Shores and Collinsville fire departments.
Copyright 2012 - Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
