Four people were injured, including three firefighters, in a three-alarm fire Wednesday morning in the Logan Square neighborhood on the Northwest Side
Firefighters were on the scene at 10:06 a.m. battling the fire in the 1800 block of North Kimball, according to a Chicago Fire Department spokesperson.
The fire department elevated the incident to a three-alarm fire so crews could be rotated due to the heat.
The fire was extinguished by about 11:20 a.m.
An EMS Plan 1 was called in response to the fire, according to Fire Media.
Three firefighters were taken to area hospitals to be treated for heat-related injuries. One civilian was also hospitalized in critical condition, the spokesman said.
“Based on evidence and witness accounts we believe the fire was
accidental and we cannot rule out careless use of smoking material,” Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said early Wednesday evening.
Earlier in the day, Max Johnson, 26, ran out of his third floor apartment with his two roommates and their dog after realizing the building was on fire.
“There was a huge billowing fire from the back window on the first floor,” said Johnson, a barista.
Johnson, who heard smoke detectors going off as he exited, looked on as heat and flames began to damage adjacent buildings.
“Our building is pretty much destroyed,” he said.
Somehow, Johnson’s banjo survived intact, as did his favorite book, “Street of Crocodiles,” by Polish author Bruno Schulz.
A group of tenants in their 20s, with help from their parents, collected whatever belongings they could, including bicycles and vinyl records.
3-11 alarm 1833 N Kimball will multiple exposure issues pic.twitter.com/CBQZ1YGAzG
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) July 5, 2017
