Chicago Fire Department Battalion Chief Andre Raiford said three homes caught fire on Laramie near Berwyn Avenue.
Sadie Wilson saw the flames after she rushed home from work Tuesday evening when her home security system alerted her about a fire in her house.
"The firemen, you could see them going inside ripping the ceilings down in the kitchen and they went into the neighbor's house with chainsaw through the roof to get in," she said.
While Chief Raiford said wind did not cause the fire, it did pose a challenge to firefighters who worked to put it out. All three homes suffered significant damage to their rears.
"The porch is gone. We had a whole back porch with a swing set on it and that's just completely gone. The backside of the house opened up," Wilson said.
One firefighter was taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries and is expected to be OK.
No other injuries were reported. Wilson said her 92-year-old grandfather was at home at the time of the fire but was able to get out. She said her neighbors were also to get out safely.
Wilson said she is grateful her family and her neighbors are okay, but says said fire took irreplaceable family heirlooms in addition to damaging her childhood home.
"I'm heartbroken. My mom just put so much work into this house to make it what she needed it to be to retire. She just finished all the remodeling and now it's done," she said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.