Deputies on routine patrol in the village heard screams and saw flames coming from the home, Rapp said.
Jordan’s mother, Nicole Lee, 43, and his younger brother, Jevin Edley, 12, tried to go back into the house to get Jordan when deputies first arrived on scene. They told the deputies Jordan was trapped, possibly in a bathroom, Rapp said.
The deputies attempted to rescue the teen.
“They tried to get into the bathroom and could not make entry and due to the extensive heat, flames and smoke and for their safety they had to exit the trailer,” Rapp said.
Jordan died inside the home. Lee and Jevin were taken to Marysville Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, deputies said.
The two deputies were taken to Mercy Memorial Hospital in Urbana to be treated for smoke inhalation and a worker with Union County Emergency Management was taken by CareFlight after she fell down stairs of a bus she arrived in and struck her head on the pavement.
Once firefighters from the Northeast Champaign County Fire District arrived on the scene they also attempted to rescue Jordan, Fire Chief Mike Penhorwood said.
“We tried offensive (attack) and we made entry into the back door,” he said.
But he said a flash of flames forced the firefighters back out.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The Ohio State Fire Marshal responded to the scene.
Jordan was a student at Triad High School, Superintendent Chris Piper said.
Classmate and neighbor Darris Green, 16, said Jordan will be missed.
“He was a good friend to me,” Green said.
Jordan liked to play basketball and had a mellow personality, Green said.
“His personality was the best — you could pretty much tell him anything,” the boy said with tears in his eyes.
People in the small town of Woodstock were in shock Wednesday, just hours after tragedy hit their tight-knit community.
“It was a horrible scene,” said Christy Miller who lives two houses down from the fire.
Losing a child and a home is something Miller said she couldn’t imagine.
“That’s what makes it even harder I think is it being so close to Christmas,” she said.
Some neighbors said they have started to collect household and personal items to give to Lee and her family in wake of the tragedy.
“Everybody’s going to pitch in and do the best they can to help out around here,” Miller said.
Jordan’s death marked the 115th death in a residential house fire in Ohio this year, according to the state fire marshal’s office.
About the Author