Six people were hospitalized, including a child in serious condition, and dozens of people were evacuated from a building on Chicago's Far South Side after a massive fire that was being investigated as "suspicious" early Friday, officials said.
The extra-alarm fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. in the 7900 block of South Phillips Avenue in the city's South Chicago neighborhood, according to First Deputy Fire Commissioner Richard C. Ford II.
Upon arrival, Ford said there were occupants of the building hanging out of windows. Firefighters took several residents out of the building's windows using ladders, rescuing a total of 24 people.
A mayday was called for a firefighter who became disoriented, Ford said, but the mayday was secured around 7 a.m. That firefighter was taken to an area hospital for observation, one of six people hospitalized after the blaze.
Two of the people hospitalized were children, one of which was taken to Comer Children's Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, fire officials said. At least 40 people refused further medical attention after being evaluated at the scene, authorities said.
The cause of the fire was thought to be "suspicious," Ford said, adding that officials believed it began on the second story of the mixed-use building.
Firefighters, as well as the Office of Fire Investigation, remained on the scene and the investigation was ongoing, officials said.
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