Arson Investigated After Fire in Vacant Apartment Forces Evacuation of About 20 People

About 20 people were evacuated early Monday after someone set a fire in a vacant top floor apartment in East Chatham on the Far South Side.

The fire was reported around 2:10 a.m. in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue and forced the evacuation of people in apartments on the first and second floors, Chicago police said.

A man, 53, was taken to Jackson Park Hospital Hospital for minor smoke inhalation, police said. No other injuries were reported.

The fire was determined to have been set in a vacant apartment on the third floor.