Six children and two teenagers died Sunday morning after a fire broke out at a Chicago apartment building on the city’s southwest side — and officials say some of the kids were at the building for a sleepover, according to reports.
The fire broke out at around 4 a.m. on the second floor of the building on South Sacramento Avenue, Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago said, according to ABC News. Santiago said a woman returned home from work, smelled the fire and began warning people to get out of the building.
“Once [firefighters] got inside the structure, they started to find civilians,” Fire Chief William Vogt said, according to ABC. “They started moving civilians out as quickly as possible.”
Firefighters found victims on the second floor, according to WLS-TV. And victims ranged in age from 3 months to 16 years old.
Marcos Contreras, 15, told the Chicago Tribune that his siblings and cousins were at a sleepover at the building. He said he ran to the blazing house with his sister, but it was too late.
“By the time we got here, the whole house was on fire,” Contreras said. “They were taking out my cousins and my brothers. I don’t even got words to explain the pain I’m feeling right now. It just feels like my whole world is crashing.”
Local residents later held a prayer vigil for the victims, with several names written on a wooden cross: Giovanni, Gialanni, Alanni, Ariel, Xavier, Victor, and Cesar.
“Our family went through a tragedy today,” Ramonita Reyes told the Tribune. “We lost several grandchildren, I’ve lost several grandchildren, Marcos has lost several brothers and sisters, friends, cousins, and we don’t even know what to say. This was a tragedy. Not anything I ever dreamed of.”
She added: “We stuck together like glue. Nothing could separate us.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to cover funeral costs for the families.
Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford told the Associated Press that there was no working smoke detector, and the victims would have escaped had there been a working device.
The fire started in the rear of the building, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. And firefighters worked to get everyone out as quickly as possible, according to ABC. Two other people were injured and taken to a local hospital, ABC reported. Their conditions are unknown.
Emanuel offered his condolences in the statement: “The men and women of the Chicago Fire Department did their very best to save the victims of this morning’s deadly fire. Anytime a person is lost in a fire these members feel the pain. And we grieve with the families.”
