EAST ALTON — East Alton Fire Chief Jeremy Diveley has confirmed the death of a 13-year-old victim in a fire from Friday night, Aug. 21, 2026, as Cayden Schaaf.
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Diveley said according to Cayden's obituary, he died at 4:25 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, after being rescued from a fire in the 300 block of Monroe Street on Friday night.
Crews responded at about 8:50 p.m. Friday to a 1 1/2-story home, where heavy fire was showing from the back of the house, Diveley said. Three people escaped on their own, including one person who climbed onto the roof and made their way to safety.
Cayden was trapped in an upstairs bedroom. Firefighters removed him from a window and transferred him to EMS crews, Diveley said. He was taken to Alton Memorial Hospital and later airlifted to a St. Louis-area hospital.
Officials said the boy died after donating his organs.
A GoFundMe campaign has been created to help the Schaaf family with funeral costs, temporary housing and necessities. Click here for related story.
A Celebration of Cayden’s Life is scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, at the Wood River Moose Lodge.
Elias, Kallal, and Schaaf Funeral Home has been entrusted with cremation rites. Memorials are suggested to Mid-America Transplant Services.
