2018 Little Village fire
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 | |
| Date | August 26, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Time | 03:00 CDT |
| Duration | 60-70 minutes[1] |
| Location | Little Village, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Type | Structure fire |
| Outcome |
|
| Casualties | |
| 10 deaths | |
On August 26, 2018, a fire began early that morning in Chicago's Mexican-American Little Village neighborhood. The fire killed ten children, including six children under the age of 12.[2]
The fire is the deadliest residential fire in Chicago since 1958.[3] In the aftermath of the fire, multiple violations were found in the apartment where the fire occurred with apartment owner, Merced Gutierrez, appearing in court for the 40 violations found at the site of the fire.
Fire
The fire started at around 3 a.m. CDT on August 26, 2018, at an apartment building at 2200 block of South Sacramento Avenue. 45 minutes later, a witness called 911 at 3:45 a.m. to report the fire, which was causing flames to erupt from the second-floor rear unit.[4][5] Children from the ages of 3 months to 16 years were at a sleepover in the apartment at the time of the fire had occurred.[5]
The investigation by the Chicago Fire Department indicated that the fire was the result of a destroyed item from the fire in the apartment later that morning.[4] Arson and foul play were not considered factors.[2][4] No adults were present in the apartment during the fire.[2]
The exact cause of the fire was unknown at the time the investigation began.[5] Eight children died at the scene of the fire, and two others were transported in critical condition to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where they died in the following days.[6]
Victims
Investigation
The initial investigation by the Chicago Fire Department’s Office of Fire Investigations into the February 22 2017 fire found the second-floor rear unit to be without smoke detectors. After the August 26 2018 fire, they found a smoke detector without batteries in the unit and changed their statement.[4]