CICERO, Ill. — Authorities are continuing to seek answers to questions of how a weekend fire started, then killed seven people at a suburban Chicago home.
Fire fighters haven’t publicly speculated about a possible cause. Those who died including a 3-day-old baby and a 3-year-old boy.
Cicero Assistant Fire Marshal Ron Opalecky has said investigators believed the blaze originated in the back of the home. But he adds nothing has been ruled out.
A grandfather, Elijah Grays, had planned to spend his weekend with his family celebrating his birthday and the arrival of a new grandson.
Instead, he was left mourning the loss of three children, two grandchildren and two friends.
Family friend Kym Hackett says Grays was devastated by his loss.
WBBM’s Steve Miller spoke with a South Side pastor who knew three of the victims well: 20-year-old Byron Reed, his girlfriend 18-year-old Sallie Gist and their three-year-old son Rayshawn Reed.
Byron Reed was expected at church that Sunday. The day he died.
Pastor Glenn Moyer of Apostolic Little Rock Church says he knew Byron Reed all his life. Watched as he took on the responsibilities of fatherhood.
“I remember when he used to come on the bus from Cicero. When he’d come to church, he’d bring his son with him. They’d be all bundled up.
“Byron took more time, I thought, to make sure that his son was all right, than anybody else.”
Pastor Moyer says that doesn’t mean that the boy’s mother Sallie Gist didn’t take care of Rayshawn.
“Because Sallie did. But Byron was always there… They really adored each other, his son and him.”
Pastor Moyer says he will always remember Byron Reed’s smile: a grin “that made you happy just because he was smiling.”
“He was always volunteering to do different things for different people at the church.”
Pastor Moyer says Byron Reed was trying to get his GED, trying to get his life together so he could do something with it.
Pastor Moyer says he’s not asking where God was in this tragedy. He says it’s God who will help the families get through this tragedy.
Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.
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