By 8 a.m. Sunday, firefirghters had already cleared the scene, and most residents had been allowed back inside the three-story apartment building. It contains six units, two on each floor, and authorities say the fire occurred in one of the apartments on the third floor.
Five members of the same family were rescued by emergency responders. Firefighters rescued two adults and two children from the third floor. Police got a 3-year-old child to safety. Everyone else in the building was able to get out on their own. No major injuries reported were reported as a result of the blaze.
ABC7 Chicago is told that police officers were actually the first to arrive on the scene. One officer is said to have kicked down a door to help residents get out of the building.
Officials say the fire was concentrated in the living room of the apartment.
"Officers on the scene saw smoke coming out of the third-floor windows. So, they parked the car, went in, kicked a few doors down, and put out the fire initially and helped get people out," said Sgt. Shawn Sisk of the Chicago Police Department.
"On arrival, we found four victims hanging out of the third-floor rear. Engine 102 let out a line to protect the stairway. Trucks 47 and 25 removed three people from the ladder. Engine 102 removed one person from the inside stairwell," said the Chicago Fire Department's Frank Cambria.
The residents were taken to St. Francis hospital in Evanston, but the worst of the injuries appeared to me smoke inhalation.
The officer who kicked down the door also suffered some minor injuries in the process.
The fire department told ABC7 Chicago that there appeared to be no working smoke detectors inside the unit.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
