Chicago Heights fire victims still waiting for answers about broken hydrants after 6 homes damaged
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Residents in south suburban Chicago Heights are calling for change, after six homes caught fire last week, leaving nine people homeless.
Jaron Boyd wants answers as to why the house he grew up in was destroyed in a devastating house fire last week.
"We want to know why are we standing here homeless?" Boyd said. "Why are we standing here with nothing, and why are we standing here with no home?"
Last Tuesday, Boyd was asleep with his wife, when his mother woke them up, because firefighters were knocking on their door, saying the house was on fire.
"As we were going out the door, we were blessed that Jaron's, Prince Jaron's camera was right at the door," Boyd's mother, Doris Williams, said.
Her son immediately started recording. That video shows flames ripping through the vacant house across the street, and then spreading from a separate vacant home into their home.
"The inside of the house is on fire, and they claim they have no water," Boyd said as he watched the fire burn.
Williams claimed firefighters focused on dousing flames in vacant homes before turning their hoses on her own home.
"I asked them why are you putting water from 16th Street on houses that have been vacant for years, and not putting any water on our house?"
Bethel Baptist Church and Bethel Family Resource Center held a press conference outside of Williams' and Alicia Campbell's homes a week after the fire, calling on city leaders to explain why hydrants weren't working.
The fire chief has said an unresponsive hydrant led to a delay in water access, and some hydrants weren't working due to construction.
The victims of the fire said they're upset they haven't gotten answers or more support from city leaders.
"It really angered me to hear us speaking about this situation, and looking to my left and looking to my right, and not have not one city representative to stand with us," Boyd said.
Both Campbell and Williams said they want to stay in their neighborhood. They're planning to tear down their homes and rebuild in the near future.
Church leaders said they invited the Chicago Heights mayor to their news conference. A spokesperson for the mayor said he was given less than 24 hours' notice and his schedule was already booked.
