Michael J. Brodbeck, Jr. dies in fatal Chillicothe, Illinois house fire

Michael J. Brodbeck, Jr. dies in fatal Chillicothe, Illinois house fire

Fatal Chillicothe, Illinois house fire death of Michael J. Brodbeck, Jr. – Obituary

Michael J. Brodbeck, Jr., 62, lost his life in a house fire in Chillicothe on Tuesday, January 20. The Peoria County coroner confirmed that Brodbeck was transported to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria without a pulse and unresponsive, and he was pronounced dead at 5:26 p.m.

Deputies responded to the fire on the 16200 block of Old Galena Road around 3:57 p.m., where family members who escaped told them Brodbeck was still inside. Thick smoke and flames initially prevented first responders from reaching him, but firefighters eventually removed him from the home and rushed him to the hospital.

Multiple fire departments, including Chillicothe, Peoria Heights, Lacon, Sparland, Akron-Princeville, and Dunlap, along with the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office, responded to the scene. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

This incident follows another fatal fire in Chillicothe earlier in the week, which claimed the life of 8-month-old A’maya Johnson in a trailer fire at Pinewood Estates. Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins expressed condolences to the families affected and acknowledged the heavy emotional burden on first responders confronting two deadly fires in one week.