Six houses catch fire in Chicago Heights after problems finding working hydrants
CHICAGO (CBS) — A massive fire in south suburban Chicago Heights damaged six homes Tuesday night.
The flames were so intense and moved so quickly because firefighters had trouble getting fire hydrants to work.
The fire destroyed Alicia Campbell's home, and damaged five others.
"This is what I see on the news, you know, and now it's in my own backyard," she said. "It's devastating, you know? It's devastating."
Campbell has lived in her home for 40 years. Her 29-year-old granddaughter was home the fire started shortly after 11 p.m.
"She had been out earlier, because she called me saying, 'Grandma, it's a fire across the street.' I'm like, 'Ok, they're going to do it. They got it under control. This is what they do.' Next thing, I get a call saying that it's our house is on fire. How?" she said.
Three of the six homes that caught fire were vacant. The other three had people living in them.
Chicago Heights Fire Chief Wendell Thomas said a hose line had to be stretched in order to reach a working hydrant, which delayed their response by at least 10 minutes.
"That's a very unfortunate thing, we understand that. We were actively trying to find hydrants that were working, and we eventually did. There was a delay in that, but once we got those hydrants up, we were able to put water on the fire," Thomas said.
Campbell's cousin, Vincent Crossland, lives nearby and said he heard a loud noise.
"I got a phone call saying there was a tree fire. Didn't smell nothing until I left my apartment. I saw a brush of blaze over there, and it was out of control," he said.
One man told CBS News Chicago he ran down the street and knocked on people's doors to get them out of their homes. He said fire crews had no water and couldn't get to work right away.
Another man whose house was affected said the fire started in an abandoned house and then quickly spread to other homes.
Neighbors said the wind carried embers across the street from where the fire started. That's when a pine tree caught on fire, spreading to three other homes.
"We all were just watching this house catch, the abandoned house catch more fire while the firefighters held the hose with no water, and we all were just watching it burn that house, spread to the house with people living in it," Jaron Boyd said.
Campbell said she'll stay with family for the time being, but she still wants answers: Why didn't the hydrants work, and what caused the fire?
Thomas said the Red Cross is assisting the people who lived in the homes that burned. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
