At about 2:30 p.m., firefighters responded to a house in the 6900-block of South Artesian. The fire was burning in the basement, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
Firefighters were told that a child was missing and they were able to pull him from the house. The boy was not breathing when he was found and transported to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The boy has been identified to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as Christopher Cherry.
6900 Block S Artesian. Fire in basement. 25x50. 1.5 story brick. 1transport critical to HC. Fire is out. CFD On scene washing down pic.twitter.com/Y2IdvIGWBP
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) August 4, 2018
The fire was started by an "electrical panel that had an unauthorized modification," according to a fire department tweet at 7:50 p.m. Saturday. As a result, items nearby caught fire.
Office of Fire Investigation has determined the fatal fire on Artesian was started by an electrical panel that had an unauthorized modification that created an unsafe condition. Nearby items caught fire as a result.
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) August 5, 2018
Firefighters passed out smoke detectors in the surrounding neighborhood Sunday.
