After six people, including a firefighter, were injured and 102 residents were displaced, groups are banding together to help the victims of a devastating West Chicago apartment building fire.
The fire broke out at approximately 1:30 a.m. Thursday at the apartment building in the 800 block of Burr Oaks Drive.
The terrifying scene unfolded as residents slept, leaving them scrambling for safety with very little warning.
Brenda Catana said that numerous family members were forced to jump from the windows of their third floor apartment to safety.
“Five of them jumped,” she said. “I have my little cousin who got his ear burnt. And my uncle who broke his leg.”
Vijay Gupta, the owner of the building, recounted the scene that witnesses described, with flames shooting from windows and virtually every part of the structure.
“She saw smoke and flames coming out of her closet. Everything is destroyed,” he said. “You walk in there and they don’t have a shred of clothing left. They’re like my family. This should not be happening.”
Local
The Red Cross and several local churches are working to help the victims, addressing immediate needs and working with property management to obtain alternative housing.
“There are a lot of families,” Ashley Randall of the American Red Cross said. “It’s an extremely, predominately Hispanic community, so the language barrier has been (a challenge), but we’ll get through it.”
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