The wife of a Chicago firefighter has passed away days after their family's Montclare home caught fire in a blaze that also claimed the life of their 7-year-old son and left two other children hospitalized in critical condition.
The Cook County Medical Examiner confirmed Friday that 36-year-old Summer Day Stewart had died Thursday evening.
Her death comes just after 7-year-old Ezra Stewart also succumbed to injuries due to smoke inhalation.
According to authorities, firefighters and police responded to a house fire at approximately 9:10 p.m. Tuesday at 2550 N. Rutherford, in Chicago's Montclare neighborhood on the Northwest Side.
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Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford confirmed to NBC 5 that the home belongs to a member of the Chicago Fire Department, who was on duty at the time of the blaze.
The firefighter's wife and three young children suffered smoke inhalation, police said. The two remaining children are still hospitalized in critical condition.
The firefighter, who heard the call about his home come in through dispatch, was taken to the scene by a Battalion Chief and worked to performed life-saving measures on his family before they were taken to the hospital, Langford said.
Photos and video from the scene showed a fire truck parked on a residential street, with more than a dozen fire and police responders gathered in front of a home near the corner of Rutherford Avenue and Wrightwood Avenue.
"The sirens kept coming," said neighbor Joel Rivera. "When I looked out, it was just the scene you don’t want to see … saw smoke coming from the roof -- and the house was on fire.”
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According to officials, the cause of the blaze is currently being investigated by The Chicago Fire Department's Office of Fire Investigation.
