CHICAGO (CBS) — A Chicago firefighter and two other people were injured Sunday evening while responding to a large fire at a multi-family home in Humboldt Park.
Witnesses told CBS News Chicago that three people were pulled from the fire that some suspected was fueled by debris from a known hoarder in the area. They said the firefighter was battling the fire near the roof when the floor beneath him opened and caused him to fall several feet.
Flames lit the sky and plumes of smoke billowed along Hamlin Avenue as residents rushed to evacuate. The call came just after 6 p.m
April Rimmer was leaving a baby shower nearby when she smelled smoke and saw the fire. She said she immediately called 911.
“People were running out of the building and people across the street were screaming that people were in there and they had to get out,” Rimmer said. “It was pretty bad.”
CBS News Chicago cameras captured the scene outside Stroger Hospital as the suspected injured firefighter was rushed onto a stretcher and tended to by first responders.
It remained unclear exactly what caused the fire.
