Sherrard Mobile Home Fire Leaves Several Dead

Sherrard, IL — A mobile home fire ignited in the early morning hours Wednesday, killing several people in a small town near the Quad Cities in Illinois.

Details are sparse as of yet, but a local ABC station reports that a father and son managed to get out of their burning home safely. Unfortunately others remained trapped inside, including children. The fire fully engulfed the home, and by 7 am the Mercer County Coroner’s Office confirmed with a different local television station that multiple people had died.

As smoke continued to rise, officials confirmed that at least five people died in the burning home. Two of the victims were adults while another three were children. Their names have not been released.

The Quad-City Times reports that the incident began around 1 am, and firefighters from multiple departments responded to the mobile home fire. Crews successfully managed to put out the blaze. By 8 am, emergency respondents were removing bodies from the debris. Officials have not yet articulated the cause of the fire.

The American Red Cross of the Quad Cities was called to tend to the surviving family members’ needs, which included food, clothing, medical supplies, and emotional support.

Quad Cities is a group of five cities that straddle the Mississippi River along the Iowa-Illinois border. The cities include Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in Illinois along with Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The entire metropolitan area has a population of nearly 400,000.

Sherrard is a small town south of the Quad Cities in Mercer County. It has a population of over 600.

A separate mobile home fire took place Wednesday morning in Muskingum County, Ohio. By the time police officers arrived on location, the home was totally engulfed in flames. Fortunately no injuries were reported. The mobile home was a total loss, and the cause of that fire also remains unknown.

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