2 Victims of South Shore High-Rise Fire Identified

The Cook County medical examiner has identified two men who died in a high-rise fire on Chicago's South Shore neighborhood.

The medical examiner said Wednesday that the victims of the Tuesday morning blaze were 50-year-old John Fasula and Jameel Johnson, who was in his 30s. Officials told the Chicago Tribune the men died after rescuing an elderly woman.

The Chicago Fire Department said the two men who died were found on the seventh floor and were taken to hospitals where they were pronounced dead.

A third person, a woman, was seriously injured, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. The fire drove residents into frigid single-digit temperatures.

About 100 firefighters responded at 8:41 a.m. to the blaze on the 6700 block of South Shore Drive. Flames and smoke were seen pouring out of a window on the seventh floor and climbing upward. The building was not equipped with a sprinkler system.

Helicopter footage of the scene showed at least three residents on balconies around the corner from the fire.