Chicago high-rise fire kills 2

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By The Associated Press | Saturday, January 27, 2007 1:06 AM CST | () comments

CHICAGO (AP) — Two people died Friday night after an extra-alarm fire broke out at a 43-floor high-rise in the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, authorities said.

Two elderly victims in critical condition, two other people in fair condition and a firefighter with a minor injury had been transported to hospitals from the 26th-floor fire that drew 150 firefighters and paramedics, fire officials said.

“The two that were critical succumbed to their injuries and they have passed,” fire department spokeswoman Eve Rodriguez said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said it had been notified of the deaths Friday night.

One of the victims was a man taken from the 26th-floor unit where the fire started, and the other was taken from below that floor, said Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco. They were transported to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and Saint Joseph Hospital.

The victim taken to Saint Joseph Hospital was dead on arrival, hospital housing manager Pat Steinkoph said Friday night.

Another two victims remained in fair condition Friday night, the fire department’s Rodriguez said. The firefighter who suffered a minor injury was in good condition, she said.

Rodriguez said one victim was found in a stairwell of the building, which according to the property management’s Web site houses about 1,100 residents in nearly 500 units.

The fire reported shortly after 6 p.m. “consumed” the unit in which it started, Orozco said. The blaze was put out in less than two hours and an investigation into the cause was ongoing.

Dozens of residents who live on the 26th and nearby floors were evacuated, but Orozco said most were expected to be able to get back into their homes Friday night.

David Rudduck with the American Red Cross said the agency provided snacks and drinks at a neighboring building to about 40 to 50 displaced residents.