Man In His 90s, 2-Year-Old Grandson Rushed To Hospital From Scene Of Burnside Fire
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man in his 90s and a 2-year-old boy were hospitalized in serious-to-critical condition late Wednesday afternoon after a fire broke out in the South Side's Burnside neighborhood.
The fire broke out in a single-family home at 735 E. 91st St. just west of Cottage Grove Avenue. The fire was out by the early evening hours, but the front windows of the first-floor unit were busted out.
Fire On East 91st StreetAn adult and a child were rushed to the hospital late this afternoon from a fire on 91st Street near Cottage Grove Avenue in the Burnside community. Chopper 2 is over the scene. More: https://cbsloc.al/36iwJqn
Posted by CBS Chicago on Wednesday, January 22, 2020
The Fire Department called a still-and-box alarm response and also sent multiple ambulances to the scene. As CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reported, neighbors knew people were inside.
"I just looked out the window and I see it was really smoky, so I just came out and I called the police," said neighbor Kendall Smith.
Smith told a 911 operator not only that he saw flames, but that several children live in the home.
As firefighter searched the home a man in his 90s and his 2-year-old grandson were found in a first-floor bedroom. Both took in too much smoke.
Large response for fire near 91st/cottage grove.@cbschicago pic.twitter.com/krkX69Nu6Y
— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) January 22, 2020
"I was told that he was cooking on the stove and went back and went to sleep with him and the little boy in the house," said Lisa Hudson.
Hudson lives next door. Her granddaughter plays with the young boy.
"He's nice old man - very nice old man. He sits and watches the kids," Hudson said.
Hudson said her home was also damaged.
"My kitchen windows busted out with the blinds that have been melted by the fire," she said.
Stretchers were on standby until it was determined the other children who live in the home were accounted for
CPR was performed on the 2-year-old once he was pulled from the home.
"It's human nature to kick into another gear that you don't not realize that you have when a child's involved," said retired Chicago firefighter Boyce Coleman II. "You want to help everybody, but sometimes there's some people you can't help. That's the worst feeling as a firefighter."
"I hope the little boy and the grandfather are all right," Hudson said.
The home had working smoke detectors.
The Chicago Fire Department said investigators determined the fire was the result of an electrical malfunction in a faulty space heater.