O'FALLON -- A fire that gutted an apartment house at 459 Ponderosa Road, leaving six adults and a 12-year-old boy homeless, began in the fireplace of one of the apartments, according to a preliminary investigation.
"It is the state fire marshal's belief, that that is the point of origin," said Brent Saunders, chief of the O'Fallon Fire Department.
The fire broke out about 4 a.m. Thursday and soon engulfed the apartment, sending flames at one point soaring 20 feet into the air.
The seven fire victims, who escaped without injury, are living in a local motel, Saunders said.
The fire marshal investigation has not been concluded because of the low temperatures since Thursday, Saunders said.
"Due to the extreme weather, basically a lot of the area was just a huge ice cube," he said.
Chris Mendola of Christone Enterprises which manages the apartment building, has organized relief efforts to help the evacuated families replace items lost in the blaze.
In a story about the apartment fire published Friday, the News-Democrat listed Mendola's office as a place where donations of money and clothes could be dropped off.
By early Friday afternoon, the public had donated $1,000 in cash and enough clothing, pots, pans and other items to fill 50 large boxes, Mendola said.
"It was unbelievable," Mendola said. "It just brought me to tears."
In addition, a church in Fairview Heights donated clothes to the fire victims, Mendola said.
Donations also poured into the O'Fallon firehouse, Saunders said.
"We're hoping we can offset a little bit of the problems these people have had over the holidays," he said.
Relief efforts are scheduled to culminate this morning. That's when the O'Fallon Fire Department will try to ease the plight of the 12-year-old boy who lost all his possessions in the blaze.
"And there'll be a fire truck delivering presents to him from Santa," Saunders said. "The fire department will make sure of that."
Anyone wishing to make donations of clothing and other items to the fire victims can call Mendola at 624-2502, or they can send money and items to Christone Enterprises Inc., 125 W. First St., O'Fallon, Ill. 62269.
