1 dead, 9 injured in extra-alarm fire in Kenwood high-rise

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman has died and nine others have been injured in a high-rise building fire in Kenwood.

The fire started shortly after 10 a.m. on the 15th floor at the Harper Square Cooperative residential building at 4850 S. Lake Park Ave.

Chicago Fire Department officials confirmed one resident of the building died in the fire, and nine others were taken to the hospital. Ald. Sophia King (4th) said the injured included an elderly woman and one firefighter.

The woman who died lived on the 15th floor where the fire started.

CBS 2's Asal Rezaei talked with a close friend of the woman who passed away. The friend said the victim was a retired schoolteacher in her 80s, who was like an aunt to her.

"They found an elderly woman deceased from smoke inhalation on the 15th floor - and that's the floor that my aunt stayed on - and I came back because I wanted to check to see how she was doing; if she was okay, because I had been trying to call her phone and nobody had been able to reach her," said Jauntanne Mayes, "and then I was just informed that she was the person that passed away."

A total of 133 units were impacted in the Kenwood fire. More than 100 families were displaced.  

As firefighters battled the flames and debris flew out of the building, emergency crews rushed past our cameras with people on stretchers – as others were loaded into ambulances.

Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said the conditions of all eight civilians taken to the hospital were stabilized. The firefighter was transported in fair to serious condition, but his injury was minor.

"We aggressively attacked the fire," Nance-Holt said. "They grabbed the communication systems - notifying all the residents of the building of what was going on - which is really important in a high-rise fire."  

The Chicago Fire Department confirmed the fire spread to multiple floors of the building, which has 25 floors.

Nance-Holt said the fire started on the 15th floor and spread "up straight vertically" nine floors to the 24th floor where firefighters were able to contain it. Officials said the wind was such that it pushed the fire vertically, which helped it to spread rapidly.

"The firefighters did an outstanding job, because that fire did not go horizontally," she said.

King said a large number of seniors live in the building. She said some tenants were kept inside as crews worked to extinguish the fire, but they were safe and contained away from the flames. Those residents were to evacuate when the fire is contained.

However, CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported some residents said they saw the fire climbing toward their windows, felt the heat in their apartments, and smelled burning wood – and still, they were told to stay in their units. They left anyway, and felt like they were placed in danger.

"There was smoke all over. I hardly could breathe, and I was calling – we were was calling the building," said Oluyinka Bankole. "She said we shouldn't go out; that we should all stay in the room."

But many – including Bankole – ultimately decided on their own to get out.

"And I saw the fire in my room, and I called her again - and she said they don't have directions for them to come out; that we should stay in the room," she said, "but when I saw the fire, I had to come out."

Deputy Fire Commissioner Marc Ferman said asking residents in high-rise buildings to remain in their units was to ensure their safety as the structure was built to keep those inside safe. He added that sometimes, firefighters don't want residents to self-evacuate so they don't put themselves in harm's way.

"The high-rise building is fire resistant construction," Ferman said. "It's built with fire separations, doors."  

Ferman added that they "lost elevators," which meant the firefighters had to bring their equipment up 15 flights of stairs.

"We evaluated smoke conditions on each floor," Ferman said, "and as conditions worsened, we evacuated those floors."

Harsh conditions with high winds also made things hard for crews.

We are told more than 300 emergency personnel were on the scene, with more than 85 pieces of equipment to fight the fire.

Meanwhile, some people who have been forced to evacuate were able to take shelter in a nearby building around the corner, King said.

Flames, heavy smoke and debris could be seen coming from windows as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.

The fire was struck out around 12:30 p.m., although crews will remain at the scene to clean up hot spots. Officials said as of around 1 p.m., they were still checking all of the building's units to ensure residents were safe.

Nance-Holt said there were battery-operated smoke detectors in the individual units and hard-wired smoke detectors in the hallway, but could not say if they went off.

Meanwhile, Chicago Department of Buildings spokesman Michael Puccinelli said the department last inspected the building on Nov. 7, 2022, and wrote up violations for the interior trash door tags and the exterior masonry, and for failing to file the required high-rise exterior wall report. 

The DOB was at the scene of the fire Wednesday and is working with the Fire Department to investigate and assess the damage.

CBS 2's Tara Molina also reported the building has a history of failed fire inspections and another fire in 2021.

Many have asked if the Kenwood high-rise had a working sprinkler system. We have learned it does not have a completed one – and since the structure was built before 1975, it is not required to have one. Some wonder if sprinklers could have helped get the fire under control quicker.

Safety standards for high-rise buildings were made significantly stricter after an infamous fire coming up on 20 years ago. On Oct. 17, 2003, that fire sent flames shooting from the windows of what was then known as the Cook County Administration Building, at 69 W. Washington St. downtown. Six people were killed in that fire when they found themselves trapped in a smoky when the doors locked behind them.

The cause of the Kenwood fire on Wednesday remains unknown.

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