A residential fire at a duplex at 207-209 W. Ward St. in Urbana early Easter morning killed one person inside the structure and injured another outside the structure. Six people were displaced as a result of the fire.
According to information from Champaign County Coroner Dr. Joshua Richards, the name of the person who died in the fire is Valorie A. Jones, age 51. Arrangements for Jones are pending at Vernon Funeral Homes.
Urbana Fire Chief Dean Ortlieb referred all questions about the identity of the injured victim and the cause of the fire to the state fire marshal’s office, which did not respond to such inquiries on Monday.
According to a social media post from the Urbana Fire Division published at approximately noon on Easter Sunday: “At 0341 this morning, The Urbana Fire Division, C-Shift, received a report of a fire with possible entrapment off West Ward Street. Battalion, Engine, and Medic 1 responded and upon arriving on the scene were met with heavy fire on one side of a duplex and one civilian injured outside. Water was reported on the fire by crews at 0351. M1 transported the civilian that was outside to Mercy Urbana and returned to the scene. The division received mutual aid from JSP, Mechanicsburg, and West Liberty Fire, along with Macochee EMS. UFD also received assistance from Box 13, Columbia Gas, Dispatch, DP&L, and UPD. The Red Cross assisted with the basic needs of six civilians who were displaced by the fire. In addition to the injured person that was outside; there was one fatality inside the structure. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is completing the investigation. The division would like to thank the members of the community that provided refreshments for our crews and support for their neighbors. On this Easter Day, our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.”
