Man Perishes in Accidental Blaze at Chicago Homeless Encampment in Little Village

A fatal blaze at a homeless encampment in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood claimed the life of a man late Monday night, as confirmed by fire department and police authorities.

The Sun-Times reports that the fire broke out around 11 p.m. in the 2600 block of South Pulaski Road, a man roughly estimated to be 40 years old was retrieved from the debris with severe burns. He was swiftly transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries within 30 minutes. The Chicago Fire Department deemed the incident accidental, the result of "combustible rubbish" being ignited, while explicitly noting the absence of accelerants or propane in the conflagration.

Meanwhile, the ABC7 Chicago report detailed that police discovered the unresponsive burn victim as the Chicago Fire Department worked to extinguish the flames in front of the building positioned at 26th and Pulaski, confirming the man's age and the ongoing investigation by CPD Area Four detectives into the circumstances of the tragic event.