Report: Cause of fatal Lost Nation fire cannot be determined

The fire that took the lives of a Dixon family of six, and the firefighters’ efforts to contain it, so heavily damaged the two-story home that a cause of the inferno cannot be determined, a state arson investigator concluded.

“The cause of this fire will be documented as undetermined in nature,” Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office Arson Investigator Greg Castronovo wrote in his report, obtained Feb. 16 through a Freedom of Information Act request.

“This was based on my inability to examine all areas of the structure due to structural collapse as a result of the fire and fire suppression efforts,” Castronova wrote.

Arson was not suspected in this case.

Timothy A. Shaw, 39, Melissa (Duncan) Shaw, 37, and Tim’s children, Ethen, 17, LeAnne, 15, Hailey, 12, and Dylan, 11, all died of smoke inhalation in the fire Nov. 21 at 204 N. Miami Drive.

Ethen made the call to 911 at midnight from the smoke-filled basement, where his bedroom was, and where he said he was trapped, officials said. When firefighters arrived 17 minutes later, the home was fully engulfed.

Two dogs and five cats also died in the fire.

The Shaws were renting from Edward and Rebecca Lamken, of Salem, South Carolina; Edward Lamken had worked with Tim’s father, David, for 30 years, and the home was insured, he told Castronovo.

Lost Nation straddles the Lee and Ogle County border, and the Shaw home was in Ogle County.