UPDATES WITH ADDITIONAL DETAILS
Two children were found dead and four other people were injured, including another child and a firefighter, after a house fire Saturday night in the South Side Woodlawn neighborhood, fire officials said.
Firefighters responded about 10:30 p.m. to a fire in the two-story house with reports of people trapped inside in the 6600 block of South Champlain, said Chicago Fire Department Cmdr. Frank Velez.
Two children were found dead in the basement of the home, fire officials and Chicago Police said. Additional details were not available and the Cook County medical examiner’s office did not immediately provide information on the fatalities.
Firefighters pulled another child, a boy thought to be between 6 and 9 years old, from the basement and he was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, Chicago Fire Department Deputy District Chief Michael Carbone told reporters at the scene. Two women, whose exact ages were not known, were able to escape the basement on their own and were taken to University of Chicago Medical Center.
Carbone said the fire was “fast-spreading,” prompting firefighters to make an “aggressive attack.”
A firefighter suffered minor injuries in the blaze and was also taken to University of Chicago Medical Center, fire officials said.
The blaze was extinguished within about 20 minutes, authorities said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.