Four members of a Rogers Park family, including a 13-year-old boy, were killed early Thursday when a fire swept through their apartment on the Far North Side, officials said.
Firefighters responded to the 7000 block of North Paulina Street at approximately 4:14 a.m. and found the victims, who all lived together in the same apartment. Officials said the victims are a 13-year-old boy, a 22-year-old man, a 46-year-old woman and a 69-year-old woman. All four were taken to area hospitals, where they were pronounced dead. The family’s dog also died in the fire.
Three residents of neighboring units were displaced.
A neighbor told FOX 32 that the sound of breaking glass and people screaming for help woke them during the night.
“I woke up off my couch to people screaming for help,” the neighbor said. “I heard ‘ow’ and ‘help’ and couldn’t exactly determine what it was at first.”
Ald. Maria Hadden, whose 49th Ward includes Rogers Park, called the fire an “unimaginable tragedy.”
“Tragically, all four fire victims and their family dog died from the fire,” Hadden wrote on Facebook. “This is an unimaginable tragedy with large impacts for the people of our community. My condolences go to the family and neighbors.”
Authorities have not released the victims’ names or disclosed their relationships to one another. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Original reporting you’ll see nowhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
