Man dies after setting fire to Gage Park home, police say

A man died after starting an extra-alarm fire that damaged three homes on Thurdsay evening in the Gage Park neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, officials said.

The fire started around 6:40 p.m. in the 5000 block of South Campbell Avenue.

A 56-year-old man inside the home started the fire, according to police. The man was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to a Fire Department spokesperson. One other person who was injured declined to go to a hospital, according to the Fire Department.

The flames spread to two neighboring homes, and the Fire Department raised a 2-11 alarm for additional equipment and manpower. A 2-11 alarm brings at least eight engines, four trucks, two tower ladders, five battalion chiefs, a district chief, a deputy district chief, a squad company, an ambulance, and a CFD Command Van to the scene, with around 100 firefighters responding.

The fire was extinguished shortly before 8 p.m., and the cause of the fire was under investigation.