Overview

• The fire broke out just before 2 a.m. on June 26 at a three-story building in the 5200 block of West North Avenue in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood
• Chicago Fire Department crews deployed a ladder truck to rescue five residents from exterior windows while a sixth was located and pulled to safety from inside
• Six people were hospitalized with smoke inhalation and burn injuries, and three victims—including two children—remain in critical condition
• Authorities have labeled the blaze suspicious, secured the structure as a crime scene and called in ATF agents to join the probe
• Witnesses reported hearing gunfire and a loud explosion before the fire rapidly consumed back porches and upper floors, burning out the interior stairwell