Nearly a dozen people were rescued from an apartment building on Chicago's west side early Monday morning after fire broke out.
Firefighters responding to the building, on the 100 block of North Central Avenue, found some of the residents hanging out windows when they arrived at about 3:45 a.m.
"I was hanging out the window," said resident Tiara Terrell. "I went to touch my door. It was too hot for me to get out. I tried laying on the floor beneath the smoke. ... I couldn't. It was too smoky, so I lifted up my screen and I see the fire truck right here. I started screaming for help. Like, 'Help me! Help me!' It's on fire. So they sent a big ladder up. It couldn't really reach so they connected another ladder to it to help me get out of my apartment."
Officials said five people were ultimately transported to hospitals. One -- a male -- was taken in serious condition to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County after jumping out of a window, fire department spokesman Verdi Allen said.
Four people in good-to-fair condition were taken to Loretto Hospital, Allen said.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation as of 8:30 a.m.
