Child dies, mother, 2 Chicago firefighters injured in West Rogers Park apartment building fire: CFD
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 6-year-old boy has died and his mother and two firefighters are injured after a fire in an apartment building on Chicago's North Side Friday, Chicago fire officials said.
Chicago firefighters responded to the 2700-block of Granville Avenue in West Rogers Park about 11 a.m. Friday for a reported blaze in a 12-unit, three-and-a-half-story apartment building.
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A 6-year-old boy has died, his mother was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition and two firefighters were taken to a hospital, as well, CFD said. They are in good condition, after stairs on which they were standing collapsed, fire officials said.
Firefighters said the fire started in the first-floor unit, where the mother and child lived.
The boy was badly burned, and his mother tried to rescue him, CFD said.
One resident, along with two other neighbors, broke down the door of the unit that was on fire and tried to go in to save the child who was trapped, but the smoke was too intense.
Chopper 7 was over the scene late Friday morning, as about 100 firefighters worked in frigid conditions in an effort to put the fire out.
"When the stairwells went out and back porches went out, it limited the way we could get up into the building. So, I don't know if you can see, but we have lines up the ground ladders, up into the second and third floors," CFD District Chief Robert Jurewicz said. "Thank God our water supply had no issues. All the lines were working. We didn't have any issues with that; so, we were very lucky."
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Flames could be seen shooting out windows, and smoke was billowing from the building.
"I smelled it the minute I came outside. It smelled weird, and then I saw the lady outside bleeding, and the flames, horrible, horrible," building resident Ricky Campos said. "I just come outside, and all I see is flames. I'm in shock. I'm in shock."
Firefighters used seven hoses and 10 ladders to beat back the flames.
Many residents weren't home, when the flames broke out, and those who were left on their own in some cases with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.
And while Derrika Gayles' unit was probably left damaged by fire, what saddens her the most is to hear about the loss of a young life.
"I'm just in shock. Like, that's my home, but material things and stuff, we can get that, but when you lose a life and it's your neighbor, it's just terrible," Gayles said. "It's just sad because any one of us could have been in the apartment at the time. My daughter was home, but she left right before the fire started."
Residents are also praying for the recovery of the boy's mother.
Two roommates, who live across the hall from the victims, were asleep when the fire broke out. They raced out a back door, and said they would have been trapped, if they stopped to grab some things or go to the bathroom.
"I wouldn't have survived this because the fire came through the door, and it would have blocked the bathroom door," Chiemeka Mere said.
Those neighbors left without shoes or a coat. Sandals and a jacket were actually donated to them.
"Physically, I've not seen such flames... It was heavy. It was a very terrible fire, coming up. It was, like, you know, like a lion coming to meet you, you know," resident Christopher Amanze said.
Amanze and his roommate, barefoot in their pajamas, escaped out a back door before the flames entered their apartment.
The city has provided a warming bus for displaced residents, and the American Red Cross is on their way to help.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
