Heartbroken West Ridge residents are shaken up after flames tore through an apartment building early Thursday, killing three people and leaving at least three others injured, including a child.
A small group of the building’s residents and family gathered on the corner of Lunt Avenue and Rockwell Street after the 1:50 a.m. fire, in the 7000 block of North Rockwell Street. None appeared to personally know the victims and the group, many of whom were in shock, said they were waiting for more information from officials.
“Man, this is crazy,” one man said, shaking his head.
Alex Hernandez, 21, lives in the building with his mom, stepdad and younger sibling. He was on his way to work when his mom called saying the building was on fire.
Hernandez immediately turned around and went back home.
“There was smoke, there was flames but they weren’t as bad as they were before, I’m assuming,” Hernandez said. The family hasn’t been told if or when they’ll be able to get back into the building, and they don’t know the extent of the damage yet, he said.
“It happened. I can’t say too much else,” Hernandez said. “I’m glad some items are still maybe to be picked up and that we were in the basement and able to get out earlier.”
Earlier, red crime scene tape cordoned off the block where the fire broke out and neighbors paused their morning walks and tennis games in the park across the street to take in the burned-out windows and other damage in the building.
A few buildings away, a vehicle marked “state fire marshal arson investigation” was parked on the street. People’s Gas was also on the scene.
The building had only a few windows left intact and the disarray inside the units was visible from the street. The higher floors were badly scorched, and through the windows, the sky was visible where the roof should have been.
As of midday, the three who died remain unidentified, only described as males of unknown ages, according to Chicago police. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
Three other people were taken to hospitals, including a boy, whose age wasn’t given and who was taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital, where his condition wasn’t immediately known.
A girl believed to be about 17 years old was also taken to Lurie in an unknown condition. A woman was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where she was in critical condition, authorities said.
More than 100 personnel, including firefighters, emergency medical services and police officers, responded to the blaze that began in the rear of the four-story apartment building, police and the fire department said.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze by 5 a.m., according to the Chicago Fire Department. It’s unclear if the building was properly equipped with smoke detectors as required by state law, according to the fire department.
The cause of the fire is under investigation and it’s too early to tell if arson, or setting a fire intentionally, was involved, a fire department source said.
Chicago police wouldn’t say whether arson has been ruled out, only saying the investigation is ongoing.
Raymond Costales, who lives a couple of blocks away, came to observe the scene. He didn’t hear any sirens overnight, but his daughter told him about the fire in the morning, he said.
“It’s a bad one, I can see it from here,” Costales said.
“It’s sad … and I think it’s a Jewish holiday, too,” he said, referring to Sukkot, a Jewish holiday meant to celebrate joy, and to the neighborhood’s high concentration of Jewish residents and long-standing Jewish history.
