A grandfather and his grandson perished last week, victims of a fire that gutted a Brookfield home on Jan. 8. Meanwhile, a 4-month-old girl remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Loyola University Medical Center on Tuesday morning, as family and friends planned to say farewell to 71-year-old Henry W. Allison and 4-year-old Calvin Robinson at a funeral service that evening in Riverside.
Fire Chief Patrick Lenzi on Monday said that the cause of the fire is still under investigation. However, he did say that the blaze ignited in a first-floor bedroom in the southwest corner of the brown brick bungalow at 3526 Park Ave.
The village’s police and fire dispatch center received a 911 call from Allison just after 6:33 p.m., reporting the house was on fire.
“A gentleman was screaming for help,” said Police Chief Steven Stelter. “He was panic-stricken.”
Lenzi said that when they arrived at the scene, firefighters doused the flames while three Brookfield firefighters, Pat McBrien, Nick Tomeczko and Frank Oliver went inside to search for victims.
The first person taken from the home was the infant, Lylian Robinson, said Lenzi. As she was rushed to the ambulance, firefighters found Allison and brought him outside to LaGrange firefighters who began CPR.
Both Allison and Lylian Robinson were found in the living room of the home. Calvin Robinson was found in the kitchen.
Allison was pronounced dead at Loyola Medical Center that evening. An autopsy performed by the Cook County Medical Examiner determined that the cause of Allison’s death was smoke inhalation. The medical examiner ruled Allison’s death accidental.
Both Calvin and Lylian Robinson, both reported to be in critical condition, were rushed to the Loyola intensive care unit. Calvin Robinson died Friday afternoon, according to a hospital spokeswoman. He died from injuries caused by smoke inhalation, according to a spokesman from the Cook County Medical Examiner.
Village records indicated that the Park Avenue home was owned by Allison, who moved there in 1992. The parents of Calvin and Lylian Robinson were not at home at the time of the fire. A third child, a 10-year-old boy, was visiting the Brookfield Public Library about a half block away from the home when the fire broke out.
More than a dozen fire trucks and ambulances responded from a slew of suburban agencies, including Riverside, Lyons, McCook, Pleasantview, Westmont and Oakbrook.
A private funeral service was held for Allison and Calvin Robinson on Tuesday morning at Ivins Funeral Home in Riverside.