RACINE COUNTY, WI – A community is mourning the loss of a mother following a deadly blaze in the Village of Raymond. The fire claimed the life of 38-year-old Jenna Zuehlke, remembered by friends and family for her devotion to her children and her generous spirit. Despite the valorous efforts of Racine County sheriff’s deputies, Zuehlke and the family dog were pronounced dead at the scene, while a 4-year-old girl was pulled to safety, FOX 6 News reports.
New bodycam footage obtained by CBS 58 shows the harrowing moments when officers braved smoke and flames to rescue the young girl; her recovery continues as investigators delve into the incident’s cause, not considered criminal at this juncture.
The tragic narrative unfolded at a house on 108th Street, where Zuehlke and her children were staying temporarily, a heart-wrenching detail shared with WISN 12 News by close friend Rebecca Kostrzewski. "They were displaced," said Kostrzewski, "They didn't have anywhere to go, as far as what she told me. So, she was letting them stay in the basement until they could get back on their feet."
Following the fire, the woman who had opened her home to the Zuehlkes was detained on an unrelated warrant; her identity remains undisclosed pending legal proceedings, and while her place at the fire's location remains part of a complicated quilt of events her connection to the conflagration waits for the yielding of facts, as sheriff's deputies state there’s no clear cause of the blaze at this time.
