An 11-year-old boy died late Sunday in a house fire in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, police said.
The boy, identified as Sergio Pedroza, was discovered by firefighters near the entrance of a kitchen on the first floor of a two-story home located in the 2400 block of South Lawndale Avenue.
Moses Barco lives in the basement apartment and said he'd been watching a movie when he smelled smoke and ran upstairs. He said there was nothing he could do to help.
"There's nothing you can say. It's just really sad," he said.
Fire crews arrived at the home around 10:30 p.m. and found the bulk of the fire on the first floor of the brick home. Several people living on upper floors had to be rescued via firefighters' ladders.
Crews contained the fire on the first floor and extinguished the blaze in less than hour.
One resident was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital for minor injuries and three other residents refused medical treatment.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
