BYRON – One person survived the fire that killed a woman and child Wednesday morning, Byron police said in a news release sent late Wednesday afternoon.

The third person was taken to Rockford Memorial Hospital for treatment, Chief Todd Murray said in the release.

No further information, including the person's injuries, age, sex, where he or she was found or his or her relationship to the other victims, was released.

"Responding agencies provided aid to an injured child and adult," the release said. "Byron Ambulance later transported both individuals to Rockford Memorial Hospital where the child was later pronounced dead. Rescue workers located a deceased adult in the residence."

The names of the other two victims, and their relationship, also was not released, although they are believed to be a mother and her 3-year-old son.

According to Fire Chief Galen Bennett:

The fire at 2020 Silverthorn was reported around 6:50 a.m. by someone who had stopped to pick up the boy.

Firefighters could hear smoke alarms going off when they arrived; the woman was found dead on the couch on the first floor; the boy was upstairs in his bedroom.

“There was very little flame, but there was smoke throughout the house,” Bennett said. “The smoke was heavy in the upstairs and in the basement.”

The state fire marshal's investigator said the fire appears to have started near the couch, but how is still a mystery. The woman reportedly was not a smoker, and no space heater or electronics such as a computer or cellphone were found near the origin of the fire.

Ogle County Sheriff's Department and Byron police are assisting in the investigation.

The home sustained heavy smoke damage but is salvageable, Bennett said, adding that this is Byron's first fatal house fire in more than a decade.

Her autopsy was done Wednesday afternoon; a call to the Ogle County Coroner's office seeking prelinimary results was not returned.

The boy's autopsy is scheduled for today.