A fire that started right before midnight on Saturday, took the lives of five people in Goodfield’s Timberline Trailer Park. Two adults and three children lost their lives. Only two were able to escape.
Katrina Alwood and Jason Wall lived there with their three kids, Damien, Ariel and Kyle, ages 2, 1 and 8. Niece Rose Alwood and grandma Kathryn Murray were also in the home at the time of the blaze. However only Katrina and her son Kyle were able to get out.
“It was surreal, it was just a fire ball when we got over here. Flames were shooting out from the center of the home. I’ve deteriorated over my head all night long just children crying and moms crying for their babies. It’s horrible, ” said Annamarie, a neighbor.
Katrina and Jason had moved to the community to be near her sister and parents about a year and a half ago, according to neighbors.
“They were pretty happy about moving in here. Pretty excited, they liked it. They moved from East Peoria here. The scenery is a lot different. Quiet,” said Shawn, trailer park manager. “I’ve lived out in this community around 15 years and never had anything like this.”
The community is already looking for ways to be there for Katrina and her son.
“Last night I heard quite a few people talking about trying to find out what the clothing size for the boy and Katrina is. They’re already talking about getting a collection of clothes,” said Shawn.
This fire also got those around talking about ways to prevent this from happening again.
“We’re going to make sure there’s working smoke alarms in every home, we’re going to make sure we always have an escape plan,” said Annamarie.
Eureka Goodfield Fire Chief said 23 firefighters from 4 departments were at the scene last Saturday night. They were able to get the fire under control in 15 minutes and cleared the scene by approximately 5 a.m. on Sunday. Woodford County authorities said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. We will be keeping you updated as new information comes in.
