Four children were killed and two adults critically wounded in an early Monday morning apartment fire in Chicago's south side Roseland neighborhood.
Most residents were able to escape the blaze at the 18-unit apartment building on the 11200 block of South Vernon Avenue. Once outside, some said they saw two adults screaming for children still inside.
"They were in the window hollering, 'Get out! Get out!'" resident Tiffany Walker recalled, "but the kids never came."
Those two adults then jumped from the window to escape the flames and smoke. Both were later transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and listed in critical condition.
By midday, the adult woman was expected to be OK. Her boyfriend remained under the close watch of doctors with a breathing tube.
The bodies of four children -- two boys and two girls -- were found in a front bedroom on the third floor, Deputy Fire Commissioner Michael Fox said.
The oldest girl, 15-year-old Carliysia Clark, an honor student, was found hovering over a younger sibling, apparently trying to offer protection in a closet. The youngest victim was 7-year-old Ariana Smith, known for her smile and happiness. The two boys were 13-year-old Carlvon Clark, who had plans to join the military and 12-year-old Shamarion, who loved to dance.
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The blaze appeared to have begun on the building's second floor just after 3 a.m., Fox said.
"I went to sleep, and I woke up, and it was like a big explosion," resident Darlene Jones said.
A cause of the fire was not known by midday, but a focus of the investigation was on whether there were enough smoke detectors in the complex. The building was cited in March for not having enough detectors in units, Chicago Department of Buildings records show.
