Woman in critical condition after condo fire in Hyde Park, hoarding may have accelerated blaze

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Firefighters say "hoarding conditions" may have accelerated an extra-alarm fire at a condo building in Hyde Park that left a woman in critical condition early Tuesday.

Police said the fire broke out at a four-story apartment building in the 5100 block of South Kenwood Avenue around 3:30 a.m. Rear back porches were soon ablaze on the second, third, and fourth floors.

The fire was raised to a 3-11 alarm for extra equipment and manpower.

As CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reported, it was an occupant on the second floor — where the hoarding conditions were reported — who was sent to the hospital.

We don't know for sure if the woman who was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center was the owner of the unit in where the hoarding was discovered.

Large amounts of debris could be seen through the front window. 

About eight people were displaced by the fire. Meanwhile, the damage to the building is so severe that crews started tearing it down the building Tuesday afternoon.

About 250 first responders were dispatched to the scene, which required 95 pieces of fire equipment. Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said that was due to the large amount of flammable material on the second floor due to the hoarding.

"When we encounter hoarding conditions, it makes it very difficult for us to get in," said Commissioner Nance-Holt. "Stairwells are burnt out in some parts of this building already too, so that also hampers our ability to get in and do anything in this building."

Nance-Holt said hoarding is a huge problem for fires - and this is actually the third fire to which the Chicago Fire Department has responded this year that was exacerbated by hoarding.

"We've had two other fires already with similar conditions," Commissioner Nance-Holt said. "It's important for people to know if you know someone with a hoarding condition, try to get them some help these are the times that matter when you have a fire and we try to gain access it hinders our ability to gain control of the fire, or even get in their safely to keep from hurting one of us, as well."

Dr. Catherine Ayers, a professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, has studied hoarding for 15 years. Hickey spoke to her on the phone Tuesday afternoon.

Ayers says hoarding is classified as a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it is a lot more prevalent than you'd think.

"Six to 10 percent of the population have hoarding-related behaviors," Ayers said.

In firefighting jargon, hoarding conditions are also sometimes called "Collyer Mansion conditions." The term refers to wealthy brothers Homer and Langley Collyer, who lived together in a mansion in Harlem in New York City surrounded by items they had collected obsessively. Ultimately, Langley Collyer was killed by a booby trap in the house, while Homer Collyer starved to death, in 1947.

In addition to tragedies like that, hoarding also often leads to increased fire danger.

"Just the sheer fire load in and of itself, and the combustible material, makes it much more of a hazard for the person hoarding and for the people fighting the fires," said Ayers, also section chief outpatient mental health clinics at UC San Diego Health La Jolla. 

We did reach out to the condo association for the building to ask if the hoarding was a known issue here, but as of late Tuesday, we had not heard back.

The most recent inspection records, according to the city's online building permit and inspection portal, show it passed an inspection in 2017. The only 311 complaints at this address concerned issues at the street level.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Ayers said one way to help prevent scenes like the horrific fire in Hyde Park is for friends, family, loved ones, and neighbors to pick up on the signs and to try to get hoarders help. There are resources out there — including the International OCD Foundation, which has videos about how to talk to someone with hoarding.