8-year-old boy, 2 others hospitalized after house fire in Chicago's Portage Park community

Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, were taken to the hospital from the scene of a fire in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood early Monday.

Chicago police were called at 6:14 a.m. for a house in the 4000 block of North Austin Avenue, between Belle Plaine Avenue and Irving Park Road.

On emergency radio, first responders referred to the blaze as a basement fire multiple times.

Chicago police said an 8-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy, and a 34-year-old man were all taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood from the scene. All three were listed in critical condition with burns and smoke inhalation, police said.

A fourth person refused medical treatment, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

Eight people were displaced in the fire, police said.

The house where the fire broke out measured two and a half stories and appeared to be wood-frame. As of 6:30 a.m., firefighters had their tower ladder up and were conducting mechanical or hydraulic ventilation.

The cause of the fire was unknown and under investigation Monday morning.