Authorities say a 4-year-old girl died early Wednesday after being pulled from a burning home on Chicago's Southwest Side.
Firefighters were called to the home at around 4:16 a.m. in the 5700 block of South Washtenaw Avenue in the city's Gage Park neighborhood, according to Chicago police and fire officials.
"Upon our arrival, companies encountered heavy fire in the back half of a two-story frame building," Chicago Fire Department Deputy Chief John Van Dorpe said at the scene.
"Initial encounter was everyone was out of the building, and then we had the report of one victim still unaccounted for in the building," he continued.
In searching the home, officials said firefighters discovered a 4-year-old girl unresponsive in a side bedroom on the first floor. She was taken to Holy Cross Hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to police.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's office could not immediately confirm the fatality and further details, including her identity, were not available.
A firefighter suffered minor injuries in the incident and was taken to the University of Chicago Hospital in good condition, Van Dorpe said, adding that the blaze was "quickly extinguished."
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There were nine other people in the home, fire officials said, none of whom reported any injuries from the fire. The home was rendered uninhabitable in the fire, with all residents placed in other shelter, according to police.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
