Cooking that was unattended is being blamed for the cause of an early Wednesday morning accidental fire that claimed the life of a 32-year-old man in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood.
Around 2:20 a.m., police and fire officials responded to a fire at a 3-story, 20 unit apartment building in the 7100 block of South Rhodes Avenue and firefighters pulled the 32-year-old man from the flames, police said.
The unidentified victim was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said.
The blaze happened at the home where no working smoke alarms were heard, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford.
In a post on X, the fire department said its office of fire investigation determined the fire’s cause “to be accidental/unattended cooking.”
Sadly, we report a fire fatality from 7108 Rhodes during the night. This is a 3 story 20 unit apartment building. OFI has determined the cause to be accidental/unattended cooking. No working smoke alarms were heard.(Langford)
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) April 30, 2025