Lawndale Apartment Fire Kills Man, 86; Tenants Flee Into Cold

CHICAGO, IL — An 86-year-old man was killed and another elderly man was hospitalized after a fire broke out shortly after Christmas Day in a West Side apartment, according to the NBC 5 Chicago. The blaze also sent about a dozen tenants of the Lawndale building out of their homes and into the brutal cold, the report added.

The fire happened at around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 26, at a three-story building in the 700 block of South Keeler Avenue, the report stated. As the blaze spread, building residents rousted their neighbors in other units to make sure they were awake and could escape, the report added.

According to the Chicago Fire Department, the 86-year-old victim died in the flames, the report stated. The apartment's landlord told NBC 5 that he thought the man was visiting relatives in Chicago at the time.

A 62-year-old man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital after he suffered from smoke inhalation, the report stated. He was in serious-to-critical condition, the fire department told NBC 5.

Along with keeping safe from the fire, the displaced residents also needed to avoid the dangers associated with exposure to Tuesday morning's frigid conditions. Temperatures were as low as zero degrees, and the wind chill made it feel even colder as neighbors fled into the street, the report added.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, the report stated. The blaze is thought to have begun in an upstairs bedroom, the report added.

More via NBC 5 Chicago

Image via Chicago Fire Department