An apartment fire in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood turned deadly early Friday morning.
Fire officials said the flames sparked around 12:40 a.m. in the three-story Circle Park Apartment Community building located in the 1100 block of South Laflin.
The fire department said the fire started in the kitchen of a third-floor unit, the same unit where they found a 68-year-old man suffering from smoke inhalation.
The man was transported to University of Illinois Hospital in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead, authorities said.
His identity had not been released as of Friday morning.
Neighbors were also left cleaning up from water damage following the blaze, but no other injuries were reported.
Authorities said the cause of the fire remained under investigation Friday, though a preliminary investigation indicated it may have been accidental.
