By Pat Shaver
The Pantagraph
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — A man whose body was found after a Bloomington apartment fire had a serious medical condition that may have played a role in his death.
No one else was injured, although firefighters had to rescue four people from balconies.
The body of Derrick W. Garner, 56, was found in a bedroom of Apartment 2 at 1003 Arlene Court, according to McLean County Coroner Beth Kimmerling.
Garner had a “serious medical condition that may have contributed to the situation,” according to the coroner. Authorities are trying to determine whether Garner died as a result of those issues, from the fire, or a combination of both. An autopsy is planned Monday.
Fire crews were called for an outside fire at 8:08 a.m., arriving to find flames billowing from a lower-level window and that someone was inside, Fire Chief Mike Kimmerling said.
The fire was quickly extinguished and firefighters found Garner with no signs of life.
Garner lived in the garden-level apartment with two other adults and one teenager. One adult and the teen were home at the time of the fire and escaped, pulling an alarm on their way out, according to the coroner.
Almost 30 people were evacuated from the building, but authorities could not say how many actually lived in the 14-unit building.
Dennis Hunt, the building’s maintenance technician, arrived as crews were using ladders to rescue four residents, including a child, from the balconies.
“Sometimes you forget just how important firemen are,” he said. “It was amazing to watch.”
John Love lives next door to the apartment that burned. He said he heard a loud noise, opened his door and saw smoke before grabbing his 5-year-old daughter Reann and escaping out a window.
“I told her to run and we just started running across the street,” he said. “It’s just sad.”
“I’ve got a phobia about fires,” he said, explaining eight cousins died in a Chicago fire a decade ago. “I didn’t grab anything, just me and her, that’s all I needed. Everything else can be replaced.”
Hemendoa Jadon and his pregnant wife, who live on the third floor, escaped after hearing smoke alarms.
“We heard the alarms, people were screaming and smoke was coming out the windows,” he said.
The building is owned by First Site. Leasing manager Ulises Napoles said the company put residents in a hotel for a couple of days and provided $100 store gift cards. The American Red Cross of the Heartland also was called.
“This (a fire) is very rare,” Napoles said, adding First Site manages 54 buildings in the Twin Cities.
Chief Kimmerling said fire damage was limited to the single apartment and 12 others were damaged by smoke. He estimated overall monetary damage will be about $50,000.
Thirty to 35 firefighters responded to the fire. The fire’s cause and origin are under investigation.
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(c)2014 The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.)
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