A young boy who suffered smoke inhalation earlier this week after the Montclare home he was in caught fire has died, the Cook County Medical Examiner said Thursday.
Ezra Stewart, 7, had previously been listed in critical condition after police and firefighters Tuesday responded to a call of a house fire at 2550 N. Rutherford Ave. Wednesday, Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford confirmed to NBC 5 that the home belongs to a member of the Chicago Fire Department, who was on duty at the time of the blaze.
The firefighter's wife, 34, and two other young children, ages 7 and 2, also suffered smoke inhalation, police said. They remain hospitalized and in critical condition.
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The firefighter, who heard the call come in through dispatch, was taken to the scene by a Battalion Chief and worked to performed life-saving measures on his family before they were taken to the hospital, Langford said.
When The Fire Started
According to authorities, firefighters and police responded to a house fire at approximately 9:10 p.m. Tuesday at 2550 N. Rutherford, in Chicago's Montclare neighborhood on the Northwest Side.
Local
Photos and video from the scene showed a fire truck parked on a residential street, with more than a dozen and fire and police responders gathered in front of a home near the corner of Rutherford Avenue and Wrightwood Ave.
"The sirens kept coming," said neighbor Joel Rivera. "When I looked out, it was just the scene you don’t want to see … saw smoke coming from the roof -- and the house was on fire.”
According to officials, the cause of the blaze is currently being investigated by The Chicago Fire Department's Office of Fire Investigation.
