2 killed, another seriously injured in separate fires in Brainerd, Bronzeville neighborhoods
John Macon, 75, was identified as one of the victims, according to the medical examiner's office
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Separate Chicago fires have left two people dead and another seriously injured in the city's Brainerd and Bronzeville neighborhoods, fire officials said.
1 dead, 1 seriously injured in Brainerd fire
An apartment fire on Chicago's Far South Side left a man dead and a woman seriously hurt Friday night.
It happened at 94th and Halsted streets in the Brainerd neighborhood.
Chicago fire officials tweeted they had responded to a blaze at that location just after 11 p.m.
Flames could be seen shooting through the building's roof.
A woman was transported to Christ hospital in serious condition, and a man was unaccounted for. Chicago police reportedly pulled the woman from the blaze.
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A short time later, the fire was extinguished. When firefighters were able to reenter the building, they found the man, who could not escape on his own, had been trapped. The flames were too intense for firefighters to rescue him, according to a later tweet.
He was pronounced dead about 11:50 p.m.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified him as 75-year-old John Macon.
CFD teams returned to the 9400-block of Halsted at 10 a.m. Saturday to distribute smoke alarms in the area. No alarms were heard in the building as crews entered, fire officials said.
No additional information was immediately provided about how the fire began.
1 dead after Bronzeville apartment fire
A 73-year-old woman died after another fire on the South Side Friday night, the medical examiner's office said.
"We looked up and there was fire; flames coming out the whole back of the building," said neighbor Patrice Brown.
Chicago firefighters responded about 10:30 p.m. to 49th Street and South Vincennes in Bronzeville for a blaze.
"I jumped up to go see what was going on, then someone knocked on the door and yelled fire. All I did was run out the house," Brown said.
Benita Frieson, also known to her neighbors as "Bonny," was pronounced deceased just before midnight.
"Bonnie, a church going lady -- hard to believe she is gone," Brown added.
The cause of both fires are under investigation.
