Major Fire Spreads Between Houses In Back Of The Yards
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A fire broke out one house and spread to another Wednesday afternoon in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, and four people had to escape quickly.
The fire broke out in a house at 4640 S. Paulina St. That house and the one to which it spread were destroyed, and two families were displaced.
Chopper 2 was over the scene as flames raged on the roof and firefighters tried to put them out.
CBS 2's Jermont Terry caught up with a man who escaped the fire. He said he had just arrived home from work, and he is glad he didn't lie down – because he was able to get out and save his life.
Alvaro Sosa's normal routine after work is to relax and take a nap.
But this time, while lounging in the basement unit, Sosa discovered the danger in the back of the house.
"I heard noise like popping," Sosa said. "I came out and looked, and I looked, there's a fire on the back porch."
The fire moved swiftly. Sosa got out of the burning house. Yet when he got to safety, he turned around going back inside.
"I went back in to get my jacket and my shoe, and by that time, the smoke was so thick I couldn't see," Sosa said.
That smoke engulfed the entire block. The CFD said the fire spread to the attic consuming the entire older structure.
Once there, the flames shot through the roof and jumped to the house next door. The family of eight that was displaced was not home at the time, and arrived to the block to find their home destroyed.
Sosa said he did not hear smoke detectors going off in the home.
Several firefighters did respond to the blaze, and there were no injuries. The exact cause of the fire remained under investigation late Wednesday.
The two displaced families were staying with loved ones Wednesday night.