Archive for category Fatal fire

Fatal fire in Chicago, 4-12-22

Apr 12

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Chicago firefighters responded around 6:50 a.m. Tuesday when smoke alarms went off in the hallway outside a third-floor studio apartment at 2322 N. Commonwealth Ave. They found a woman, in her mid-50s, in cardiac arrest and began CPR. Paramedics brought her to Saint Joseph Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The fire was contained to the studio apartment and there was no word of other displacements. There was a lot of smoke but little fire, and the blaze was extinguished quickly.

A preliminary investigation found that the cause of the fire was unattended cooking.

Tags: Chicago Fire Department, fatal fire in Chicago

Double fatal fire in Chicago, 3-31-22

Apr 1

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Excerpts from Fox32chicago.com:

Just before 6:30 p.m. Thursday evening, Chicago firefighters responded to a house fire on South Homewood Avenue, just north of 115th Street in Morgan Park. Crews encountered several challenges that made the fire more difficult to control.

“There were barricades on the back door, like a 2×4, I guess to keep people out. Also there was also a lot of debris inside of the building which made the fire a lot more hectic to fight,” Chicago Fire Department Deputy District Chief Anthony Frazier said.

Inside, two men were found dead on the main level. The victims have not yet been identified.

The fire was brought under control within 45 minutes. There were no working smoke detectors inside the home.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Tags: Chicago Fire Department, double fatal fire in Chicago, fatal fire in Chicago

Fatal fire in Evanston, 3-10-22

Mar 11

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Excerpts from the City of Evanston:

EVANSTON, IL – On Thursday, March 10, at approximately noon, Evanston firefighters responded to 1516 Brummel St. for reports of smoke coming from a residential structure.

Upon the arrival of first responding fire companies, heavy black smoke was coming from the basement of the single-family residence. First arriving crews encountered heavy fire conditions on the lower level of the structure. The response was quickly upgraded to a Box Alarm with fire conditions requiring three hose lines and neighboring fire departments to assist with extinguishing the blaze.

The property owners discovered the fire after arriving home to find smoke coming from their residence. Prior to the arrival of firefighters, one of the property owners, an 87-year-old male, entered the structure to investigate the source of the smoke. When firefighters arrived, they quickly found and extricated the man from the bottom of the basement stairs. Life-saving measures were initiated with transport immediately provided to a local area hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Family notifications were made, with condolence care services offered by Evanston Fire Department Chaplain Monte Dillard and the American Red Cross.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Smoke detectors were operational at the time of the fire. According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), smoke detectors should be tested at least once a month and batteries should be replaced at least once or twice a year, unless the manufacturer suggests otherwise. If smoke or CO detectors activate, residents need to immediately leave or stay out of the building and call 911 to investigate.

Collin Ehrlich photo

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Tags: Collin Ehrlich, Evanston FD Engine 24, Evanston FD reserve ladder truck, Evanston FD Truck 22, Evanston Fire Department, fatal fire in Evanston, fire scene photos, Niles FD Tower 2

Fatal fire in Boone County, 3-7-22

Mar 7

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multiple people presumed dead after house fire

Tags: Boone County Sheriff's Office, multiple people presumed dead after house fire in Boone COunty Illinois

Fatal fire in Chicago, 2-8-22

Feb 8

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Excerpts from ABC7Chicago.com:

An 88-year-old woman and 70-year-old man were found dead in an apartment fire early Tuesday morning in Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side after CPD and CFD responded just before 2:30 a.m. to the 3600-block of North Kedvale Avenue for a reported fire in a two-story building there. The two bodies were found on the first floor of the building after firefighters had extinguished the blaze.

Fire officials said a mother and son living in the building didn’t have any heat for many months and were using space heaters to stay warm, and didn’t have any working smoke detectors. They were longtime residents in the building and were well-known on the block.

CFD said the home was overfilled with possessions and was hard to get around in. Frozen fire hydrants also complicated matters while they tried to fight the fire.

Investigators are still working to determine an exact cause for the blaze, but their initial investigation shows smoking materials might have started it.

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Tags: Chicago Fire Department, fatal fire in Chicago, no working smoke detectors in fatal house fire, two die in Chicago house fire

Fatal fire in Des Plaines, 1-27-21 (more)

Jan 27

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Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

A blaze that killed a Des Plaines woman and her four children one year ago was caused by two electrical cords that had been improperly altered and connected. One cord was part of a space heater that had been the focus of the investigation from the start. The other was a heavy-duty extension cord plugged into a wall outlet. The space heater was inside the family’s second-floor apartment near a stairway. The extension cord was plugged into an outlet in the kitchen.

The fire occurred in the apartment building on the 700 block of West Oakton Street. The building originally was a single-family house but had been converted into apartments. Killed in the Jan. 27, 2021, blaze were Cithlaly Zamudio, 25, and daughters Renata Espinosa, 6, Genesis Espinosa, 5, Allison Espinosa, 3, and Grace Espinosa, 1.

The fire, which began about 10 a.m., trapped the victims inside because there was no safe exit other than the stairs. Two other occupants of the building got out safely with help from police and a passerby.

Forensic electrical engineers hired by an insurance company and an attorney for the family’s estate examined the building and debris inside in June as part of their investigations. They concluded the spliced cords caused the fire. As manufactured, the male end of the heater’s electrical cord and the female end of the extension cord didn’t match. The ends had been cut off so the wires inside the cords could be spliced.

The resulting electrical flash could be seen in surveillance video from a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago facility across the street from the family’s home.

Strings of Christmas lights inside the apartment were improperly wired to each other, too, but they likely weren’t to blame for the fire.

The building where the fire occurred remains unoccupied and boarded up.

Tags: 5 dead after Des Plaines house fire, chicagoareafire.com, Chicagoareafire.com/blog, Des Plaines Fire Department, fatal fire in Des Plaines, four young children and one adult perish in house fire, op-ed from the Journal Topics about Des Plaines Fire Department staffing

Fatal fire in Chicago, 1-25-22

Jan 25

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Excerpts from abc7chicago.com:

Chicago police and firefighters responded just before 2 a.m. Tuesday to the 8200-block of South Cornell Avenue in Stony Island Park for a reported house fire. When they arrived, they found the nearby fire hydrants were frozen, hampering their efforts to battle the blaze.

An 81-year-old woman, who neighbors said lived alone, was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, where she later died of her injuries. She was found in the kitchen, just steps from the exit.

According to the Chicago Fire Department, there were no working smoke detectors in the home. Fire crews knocked on doors in the aftermath, handing out free smoke detectors to people in the area.

CFD officials said the fire might have started in the basement and the cause is still under investigation, but a smoke alarm could have provided more warning to escape.

From Chicago Fire Department Media on Twitter:

Fatal fire 8215 Cornell 82 year old woman removed in cardiac arrest critical to U of C where she was pronounced. No working smoke detectors. 911 call at 154 a.m. Engine 72 on scene at 158 a.m. 2 story 25×50 Still and Box alarm

CFD Public Education will be at 82 and Cornell at 10 a.m. to pass out smoke detectors and info in the aftermath of the fatal fire this morning.

8215 Cornell preliminary report indicates fire may have started in basement. No smoke detectors found. Victim found only a few feet from exit. Smoke alarm could have provided enough warning to allow safe escape. Are yours working?

Update on Cornell fatal fire. CFD OFI has determined the most probable cause of this fire was a wiring problem and it will be classified as accidental. Please remember to check smoke detectors. They do save lives!

Fatal fire at 8215 Cornell in Chicago, 1-25-22

CFD Media photo

Tags: aftermath of a fatal fire in Chicago, Chicago Fire Department, fatal fire in Chicago

Fatal fire in Downers Grove, 1-14-22

Jan 18

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Excerpts from chicago.cbslocal.com:

Around 9:24 p.m. Friday night, the Downers Grove Fire Department responded to a reported house fire at 6610 Dunham Road. Upon arrival, heavy smoked and fire were seen coming from the home.

A 45-year-old victim was located inside near the front door and was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital where he later died. No other people were inside during the fire.

The house was determined uninhabitable due to the extent of the fire.

The Downers Grove Fire Department was assisted by Westmont, Darien-Woodridge, and the Lisle-Woodridge fire departments. The cause of the fire is under investigation with assistance from the DuPage County Fire Investigation Task Force and The Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office.

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Fatal fire in Belleville, 1-11-22

Jan 11

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Excerpts from Fox2now.com:

A woman was killed in a Belleville, Illinois house fire Tuesday morning and three others were taken to the hospital.

The call came in at about 6:45 a.m. for a 121-year-old home on fire in the 600 block of Rodenmeyer Avenue off McKinley. As crews arrived at the scene, flames were shooting out of the home.

A total of four people were inside at the time of the fire including two adult men, one woman, and one young child. The two men were already outside the home when crews arrived and told the firefighters that there were still people inside. where firefighters first found the young boy in a front room. He was conscious when they brought him outside. Firefighters went inside the home again and found the woman, already deceased, in the back next to the kitchen. The boy and the two men were taken by ambulance to a hospital where the child is said to be doing well, but one of the two men is still having some trouble breathing.

No firefighters were hurt and at this point a cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Tags: Belleville Fire Department, child rescued from Belleville house fire, Fatal fire in Belleville

Fatal fire in River Grove, 1-5-22

Jan 5

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Excerpts from ABC7chicago.com:

Three people were killed and another critically injured after a house fire in River Grove Wednesday morning after firefighters responded to a report of a garage fire at about 7:24 a.m. in the 2300-block of Grove Street. The house was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

Fire officials said they believe the victims, all adults, were part of the same family. The injured person was transported to Loyola Medical Center in critical condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.