Dozens Displaced After 8-Alarm Cicero Apartment Complex Fire

CICERO, IL — Between 20 and 30 residents of a Cicero apartment complex were displaced after an eight-alarm fire broke out in the 18-unit complex’s basement early Friday morning, fire officials said.

No one was injured in the fire after firefighters were on the scene of the blaze for several hours after being called to the complex, which is in the 5900 block of West 116th Street, fire officials said. The fire started around 1:45 a.m. after residents told fire officials they smelled smoke in one of the three buildings affected by the fire, a town spokesperson said.

Firefighters were still on the scene of the fire until around 6 a.m. and residents were moved out of their apartments. Firefighters were still ensuring that all residents were out of their residences shortly before 6 a.m. A town spokesman said that there was a mayday call at one point when it was believed that firefighters might be in jeopardy, but no one was injured.

Red Cross volunteers are working with the displaced residents to find alternative housing after the fire, which remains under investigation. The spokesman said that families affected by the fire each received about $650 in housing credits to cover costs for a multi-day stay in local hotels.

As of Friday afternoon, no cause for the fire had been determined, officials said.