9 people seriously injured in fire in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood
Nine people were seriously injured in a fire that ripped through a vintage apartment building in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood Thursday afternoon.
Firefighters' rescue efforts were so intense that they found a man on top of the roof who was trying to escape from the fire.
Video also shows see this woman hanging partially out of the window with her dog, trying to get fresh air.
Just after 1 p.m., the Fire Department was called for a fire at the building at 5439-41 N. Kenmore Ave., according to Chicago Fire Department 2nd District Chief Robert Jurewicz. Firefighters saw smoke coming from the building, and the CFD went on to raise a 2-11 alarm and an EMS Plan 2 for extra equipment and manpower.
An EMS Plan 2 calls 10 ambulances to the scene. About 125 firefighters responded altogether.
Firefighters said the fire started on the fourth floor in a woman's unit. When the woman opened the door to run from the fire, fire officials said she left the door open — and that was how the fire quickly spread.
Firefighters went up to the fourth floor of the building. When they were 75 feet away from the apartment where the fire started, a total of 30 feet of the hallway was engulfed in flames, Jurewicz said. All the windows in the back of the building had been blown out.
Even the fire extinguisher case 75 feet away from the fire was completely melted, Jurewicz said.
The firefighters had to fight through those 30 feet of fire to get to the apartment, Jurewicz said.
A resident described a horrifying scene.
"I see people just yelling for help, and I see smoke just coming up, so I got scared," said Theresa Thurman, who lives on the second floor.
The woman who lived in the apartment was in a stairwell, and was taken to an area hospital. Altogether, nine people were taken to hospitals — one in serious-to-critical condition, the others all very serious, Jurewicz said.
Many of the people who lived in the building were seniors, Jurewicz said.
"I'm telling you, this fire attack that these guys did saved countless lives," Jurewicz said.
Three people were helped down a ladder from one side of the building, while the a fire company went up for a woman to bring her out of a window after she said she was not leaving, Jurewicz said.
More than a dozen people were rescued by way of the fire escape on another side of the building, Jurewicz said.
"We came around the corner and we just saw smoke billing out of one of the windows — multiples of the windows," said Shelby Schonken. "By the time we were able to, like, figure out what was going on, the Fire Department had showed up and was starting to break out windows, spray a ton of water trying to get the fire under control."
The American Red Cross is assisting those who were affected by the fire.
"What I know right now is there's several displacements, and the Red Cross is here to provide what we always do. It's comfort, care and, basic needs," said Rodrigo Carrillo, regional disaster officer for the American Red Cross Illinois Region. "We have a feeding team on their way, and we're gathering all the details to see what sheltering is needed."
The building is eight stories tall.
The cause of the fire was not known late Thursday.
