Investigators Still Looking For Cause of Deadly Southwest Side Fire
The Cook County Medical Examiner's office said Adrian Hernandez was pronounced dead at 11:12 a.m. Tuesday at Stroger Hospital
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The Little Village community gathered Wednesday evening to honor the ten children lost in a tragic fire over the weekend. NBC 5’s Regina Waldroup has the latest.
A Chicago Fire Department official says the cause of the apartment fire that claimed the lives of 10 children remains a mystery.
Spokesman Larry Langford said the fire has been classified as "undetermined" but the department hopes an analysis by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives may provide clues as to how Sunday's pre-dawn fire on the city's Southwest Side started. He says investigators are also analyzing photographs of the building and the porch that were taken last year when firefighters extinguished a fire on the first floor.
Investigators have ruled out arson but they are trying to determine if it was caused by someone on the porch who set off fireworks or left behind a burning cigarette.
CSNPhilly.com
Crosses have already been placed for some of the victims who were killed Sunday morning near the Little Village neighborhood on Chicago's West Side.
It's considered one of the biggest tragedies the city's fire department has seen in years, officials say.
WMAQ
Officials said they received a call that a fire broke out at 2224 S. Sacramento Ave. around 4 a.m.
WMAQ
Police say the victims were immediately found in the second floor (the first floor was vacant) of the structure, which was described as a "coach house."
WMAQ
By the time fire crews got inside the building, seven people were already dead, officials say.
WMAQ
Two others, a teen and an adult were severely injured and transported to Stroger Hospital, Santiago said.
WMAQ
“We have not had this in many, many, many years, this amount of fatalities and injuries in one location," expressed Santiago. "This is very unusual.”
WMAQ
A firefighter lieutenant, Santiago said, was also injured in the fire and transported to Rush hospital where he remains in good, stable condition.
WMAQ
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
WMAQ
Officials also say it was unknown whether there were smoke detectors in the residence.
WMAQ
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the local alderman have both been alerted, Santiago said.
