Woman injured in two-alarm fire in Greater Grand Crossing

An extra-alarm fire sent an elderly woman to the hospital and left a Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood home uninhabitable Thursday morning on the South Side.

Tasha Jones, 38, teared up when firefighters handed her a backpack they salvaged from her fire-gutted and still-smoldering home early Thursday morning.

In it she found her wallet. “It’s a small bright spot in a tough morning,” said Jones, 38, who, along with her two sons and six other tenants who lived in the home on the 7600 block of South Ingleside, was able to escape the fire.

A 74-year-old woman who lived in the home was able to get out on her own but was taken to Jackson Park Hospital with minor injuries, officials said.

The fire started about 5:20 a.m. and firefighters were on the scene in under four minutes, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said.

The blaze was extinguished just after 6 a.m., but completely destroyed the second floor of the home, which is uninhabitable.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation Thursday morning.

Jones, a student at Chicago State University who is studying business administration, wore a long overcoat as she stood on the sidewalk outside her house and tried to hold back tears.

“I wish I could have gotten a few of my text books, but I’m just happy everyone is okay,” she said.