Girl dead, mother seriously injured in NW Indiana house fire

NEW CHICAGO, Ind. - A 2-year-old girl died and her mother was seriously injured after their northwestern Indiana mobile home caught fire and flames spread to two other homes, officials said.

Firefighters found the woman’s home engulfed in flames when they arrived Thursday afternoon at the Ravinia Pines Mobile Home Park in the Lake County, Indiana, town of New Chicago.

The girl’s mother was found in a bedroom and airlifted to the University of Chicago Medical Center in very serious condition, New Chicago Fire Department Chief Joe Eakins.

After speaking to neighbors, firefighters realized the woman’s 2-year-old daughter was still trapped inside, but it was too dangerous for them to immediately go back inside, he said.

After reducing the flames, firefighters reentered the trailer and found the girl in a corner of the living room, but she was soon pronounced dead. The Lake County coroner’s office said the cause and manner of her death were pending.

“This is something that you never get used to, and we all have families, and it really, really hurts to see something like this happen,” Eakins reportedly said.

He said two homes on either side of the woman’s trailer were heavily damaged by flames. The state fire marshall is investigating the fire in New Chicago, which is located just southeast of Gary.

Eakins said the fire did not appear to be suspicious.