A massive blaze engulfed two apartment buildings on Chicago’s South Side early Saturday, according to fire officials.
The two-alarm fire began around 6:45 a.m. in the 5800 block of South Prairie Avenue in the city’s Washington Park neighborhood, authorities said.
Area residents said the building where the blaze began caught fire about three weeks ago, but this time, it was much worse and spread to the structure next door.
There were unconfirmed reports of someone missing in the fire, according to CFD District Chief Jeffrey Horan.
Horan said the person in question may be a 40-year-old male, but there were conflicting reports as to where the man would be.
Firefighters did a primary search and were unable to find anyone trapped, officials said, and would continue to search the area and the two four-story buildings impacted by the flames.
More than one hundred firefighters were called to the scene, according to Horan, who said the department was taking precautions with the hot weather.
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Firefighters can’t be in the fire for more than ten minutes because of the high temperatures, Horan said, which is why so many were involved in the operation.
Residents were evacuated from the apartment building where the fire spread, and smoke could be seen for miles around.
No injuries were reported, and emergency crews remained at the scene Saturday morning.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
