Grandfather who rescued grandson, 7, during house fire on Chicago's East Side dies

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Monday, September 17, 2018
Firefighters found no smoke detectors in the home where a 69-year-old man was critically injured in a fire Sunday night.
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CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 69-year-old grandfather who threw his 7-year-old grandson out a second-story window to Chicago police officers below as their home burned has died, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed on Monday.

Apolonio Castellano was critically injured in the Sept. 9 fire in the 10000 block of South Avenue L in Chicago's East Side neighborhood on the Far South Side.

The boy survived thanks to Castellano efforts.

RELATED: Grandfather throws 7-year-old boy from burning home in East Side

Castellano was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center with burns and smoke inhalation.

Two families lived in the coach house where the fire broke out. A family of six who lived on the first floor were not at home when the fire broke out, but their dog was killed in the blaze.

Authorities said they did not find working smoke detectors in the fire.