'My mom was a wonderful person': Woman found dead, firefighter injured in Hammond house fire

HAMMOND, Ind. (WLS) -- A woman was found dead and a firefighter was injured in a house fire early Tuesday morning, Hammond fire officials and family of the victim said.

Fire crews responded about 4 a.m. to a fully involved structure fire in the 7200-block of Lindberg Avenue in Hammond, said Danny Misiak, the chief Hammond fire inspector. Flames were coming out of the home's windows, he said.

A woman was found dead right inside the front door, according to fire officials and family.

At one point, a Hammond firefighter fell through the floor and had to be rescued by his colleagues.

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He suffered burns to his arms and legs, and is hospitalized, fire officials said.

His injuries are not life-threatening.

"He's in stable condition. He's got some second-degree burns, and was transferred to Loyola hospital's burn unit just as a precaution," Misiak said.

The son of the woman who died identified her as Jaqueline Mcentire. She was nearly 80 years old, Chris Tuttle said.

He is devastated and is trying to understand what happened.

He spent most of his childhood in the home that burned.

Tuttle said he found out about the fire on the news. Then he came rushing over.

"I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do; my mom was my confidant, my everything, you know," Tuttle said.

Tuttle said his mother had health issues.

He said his father was at work when the fire broke out.

A neighbor's doorbell camera showed a police officer getting to the scene just moments before fire trucks arrived.

"Police department showed up a couple seconds before. The cop made it to the front door and was met with heavy flames and smoke, so he couldn't get inside, same with our crew when they got here," Misiak said.

Next-door neighbor Paul Turner said he heard several loud booms, which woke him up.

"And then I heard another one, and then I heard a big boom, and I was like, 'something ain't right,' so I come and look out my front door, and there was smoke and fire everywhere," Turner said.

Tuttle is heartbroken.

"I just want everyone to know my mom was a wonderful person," he said.

Fire officials said there was a lot of clutter in the house, and that is hampering their efforts to find out what caused the fire.

They are also reminding people to make sure they have working smoke detectors in their homes.