Two brothers, ages 3 and 4, died Wednesday afternoon after being pulled from a house fire on a quiet cul-de-sac in Hickory Hills, authorities and family said.
The mother of the boys ran through their two-story home trying to rescue them, but she was overcome by the flames and smoke and ran to a neighbor's house to call police, authorities said.
When firefighters arrived in the 8900 block of Emerald Court in the southwest suburb around noon, the children's distraught mother was across the street, officials said.
She did not speak English, but firefighters understood she was trying to communicate that there were two children in the home, which was already engulfed in flames, said Roberts Park Fire Protection District Chief Jeffrey Ketchen.
Ketchen said flames poured out the front door and windows but were contained to the first floor. The children were found in an upstairs bedroom, Hickory Hills police Sgt. Ervin Weesit said.
"It's tragic," Ketchen said. The mother was "overwhelmed with the circumstances," the chief said.
Raed Saleh, 3, and Ayob Saleh, 4, were declared dead just after 1 p.m. at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Officials said only the mother and two children were at home at the time.
The fire appeared to have started on the first floor in a family room area, but authorities have not determined a cause, Ketchen said. The home has not been cited for any code violations, according to the Hickory Hills Building Department.
The father of the boys said, through Ketchen, that he does not want to give a statement or speak to reporters.
Mohammad Ali, a cousin of the father's, said the Saleh family is from Yemen and are naturalized citizens. The father owns a gas station and convenience store, and his wife is a stay-at-home mom, he said.
"They were happy kids," Ali said. "They were like normal kids that played a lot.
"They are a good family. The mother, she not even can speak. The family, they are so tired. Dad cannot speak. He was crying."
Three older siblings were at school at the time of the fire, neighbors and relatives said.
A woman who identified herself as a cousin but declined to give her name came to the house Wednesday afternoon to pick up the other children as they got off the school bus. The older children had not yet learned what happened, she explained.
When the bus arrived, she guided a small boy into her car and drove away to pick up the other two children, Ali said.
The imam at the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview said there was a service set for Thursday, provided the bodies are released by the medical examiner. He declined to comment further.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
