Two adults are dead and several people are missing following a Sunday morning extra-alarm fire that raged through a Cicero residence, which may have housed anywhere from 20 to 40 people.
Firefighters have found the remains of what appear to be two adults in the three-story, three-flat building at 3034 S. 48th Ct. in west suburban Cicero that ignited around 6:30 a.m., said town spokesperson Ray Hanania.
A firefighter, one of sixty from six fire departments who responded to the 2-11 extra-alarm blaze, suffered unknown injuries because of the fire, said Hanania, who didn’t have further details about the firefighter’s condition.
Emergency officials still don’t know how many people live at the residence, which is making a search for an unknown number of unaccounted-for individuals more difficult, Hanania said.
“There may have been four or five families in there, we don’t know,” Hanania said. “I’ve heard numbers between 20 and 40 people,” which he has yet to confirm, he said.
Hanania said that questions about possible over-occupancy at the residence was a topic he is “definitely going to look at this week,” in the wake of the deadly blaze.
The fire was mostly extinguished as of 10:50 a.m., but crews are searching the still-smoldering building for residents and for clues as to the cause of the fire said Hanania. He could not immediately say if the blaze was accidental or suspicious.
Crews first responded around 6:30 a.m. when a girl living at the residence with her mother and siblings called to say there was a fire, and firefighters responded quickly, Hanania said.
“By the time they got there, the fire just raged through the building,” he said.
Fifteen people from the residence were taken to a shelter at the town’s public safety office, which is providing food and emergency care, he said.
Seven adults and 12 children received emergency assistance this morning from the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, according to a release from the organization.
The Red Cross provided the people with food, clothing, warm winter coats, shoes and shelter, the release said.
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