Man critically hurt after jumping from high-rise fire in Edgewater at Wyndham Apartments
A man was critically hurt after he jumped from the window of a high-rise in Edgewater after a fire broke out Friday morning.
The Chicago Fire Department said the blaze started in an apartment on the fifth floor of the Wyndham Apartments in the 5000 block of North Sheridan Road.
The fire woke up just about everyone in the building Friday morning. For some it was the smell of smoke; for others, it was the sound of a man screaming.
"In my stupor, I heard a bang and then afterwards just kind of heard groans, 'Help,' stuff like that," said Fisher Kelly, Wyndham resident. "Then I heard debris, the sound of stuff kind of falling."
Smoke and flames scorched the brick façade across from Kelly's sixth-floor apartment.
"Smoke, smoke, smoke, and then I saw a broken window, and then looked down and he's lying on the ground," he said. "Not really moving much on the ground. He seemed very hurt."
The Chicago Police Department confirmed a 33-year-old man jumped from an apartment window on the fifth floor to escape the fire. He was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital in critical condition with injuries to his leg and back.
"I'm praying for him. I hope he's OK," Kelly said.
Residents on the upper floors on the opposite side of a building got a rude awakening as well.
"I opened the hallway door and there was a cloud of smoke. I couldn't see like five feet," said Sean Wakefield, Wyndham resident. "Definitely a serious, serious situation. Very scary."
The fire was struck out by 6:30 a.m. and the cause remains under investigation. While residents said the floor where it happened is in rough shape, CFD said there were no other injuries from the blaze.
