10-year-old boy killed in Northwest Side fire identified

A 10-year-old boy who was killed in an an extra-alarm fire early Sunday at a Northwest Side apartment building has been identified.

Hans Kahn was discovered dead inside the building where he lived in the 5700 block of North Kimball, according to Fire Media and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy conducted Monday was inconclusive pending further studies.

The blaze began in the courtyard building about 4 a.m. and moved throughout the courtyard building before being put out about 45 minutes later, according to Fire Media.

Eleven people — five of them between the ages of 15 and 17 — were taken to various hospitals, including Swedish Covenant, Weiss Memorial and Saint Francis in Evanston, according to Fire Media. The other six hospitalized are all adults.

Two people are in serious-to-critical condition while the other nine are in fair-to-serious condition, authorities said.

Despite reports that the fire is “suspicious,” the cause of the fire remains under investigation Sunday morning, authorities said.

The police Bomb and Arson Unit responded to the blaze, which is routine for any extra-alarm blaze or when there are injuries, police said.

Fire Media spokesman Juan Hernandez said that investigators are focusing on the third floor of the building, where the blaze is thought to have originated.

Firefighters at the scene reported they heard fire alarms going off in the building when they arrived, so the alarms are thought to be in working order, Hernandez said.