TWO PERISH IN FIRE; TEEN KILLED BY TRAIN

Summary:

A state fire marshal hasn't determine the origin or cause of the blaze.

SCOTT CITY -- A 38-year-old Scott City woman and her 3-year-old son died Wednesday in a house fire.

Norma and Adam Eads were found in the upstairs bedroom of their home at 110 E. Cherry. Adam was on a bed near the front window and Norma Eads was on the floor nearby.

Scott City Fire Chief Les Crump said firefighters were called to the house at about 8:30 a.m. When they arrived at about 8:35, fire was shooting from every door and window and the roof had caved in at the rear of the house.

Crump said he called for mutual aid from Cape Girardeau and set up trucks at the front and rear of the house. Firefighters did not attempt to enter the structure.

"Because of the size of the fire and mostly because of the physical taxing of a fire of this nature, we felt we needed additional personnel," Crump said.

Crump said it took about 20 minutes to bring the fire under control.

Norman Pulliam and his wife, Mary, owned the house. They lived there with their daughter Norma Eads; her husband; and the Eads' four children.

The Pulliams, Norma Eads' husband and the three school-aged children had all left the residence before the blaze began.

Neighbor Vevalee Baker made the 911 call that brought authorities to the scene. Baker and her son Gary first mistook the smoke from the fire for fog, but after realizing the house directly across the street was ablaze, she said she called for help while her son went to see if anyone was in the house.

"I yelled and there was no answer," Gary Baker said. "About that time someone from the next house down came over to help. We were running around and yelling, but there was no response."

Scott County Coroner Scott Amick has initially ruled the cause of death as smoke inhalation. The bodies were removed just after noon, and Amick said he was not planning an autopsy.

Amick completed an examination of the bodies and ruled that the victims died from smoke inhalation and other consequences of the fire.

He said in house fires of this magnitude an autopsy is usually not warranted. Amick said a formal announcement of time of death is no longer required by the county coroner. Instead, he said, the examiner is required to list time of injury.

"In this case, they were probably dead when the call came in," Amick said. "Injury and death probably happened within a few minutes of each other."

Fire Marshal Rod Hoelscher, who was on the scene of the fire, had not determined an origin or cause.