A fire tore through an apartment building in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood early Saturday morning, leaving one person in critical condition and sending a second resident to the hospital for treatment. The Chicago Fire Department responded around 7 a.m. to the blaze in the 7100 block of South Jeffery Boulevard.
One person was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, according to the Chicago Fire Department, as reported by CBS News. A second person was also treated at a local hospital for injuries, though the cause of that person's injuries remains unclear and has not been tied to the fire itself.
The cause of Saturday's fire is still under investigation, per the same report. No further details on how the blaze started or spread through the building have been released.
A Stretch of South Shore With a History of Fire Danger
This is not the first time fire crews have been called to apartment buildings along this stretch of South Jeffery Boulevard. In February 2024, a high-rise fire in the 7100 block of South Jeffery Boulevard sent seven people to hospitals, including five children, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. An infant was listed in critical condition in that incident, and a preliminary investigation at the time indicated the fire started in the kitchen of a second-floor unit. That earlier fire is cited here only as prior context and is not established to be connected to Saturday's blaze.
Separately, ABC7 Chicago reported on a South Shore high-rise fire that spread to other second-floor units, with smoke reaching several floors above. Seven people were hospitalized in that incident, including an infant taken to Comer Children's Hospital in critical condition.
Fires in South Shore apartment buildings have proven difficult to contain once they take hold. WGN-TV reported on a fire that began just before 4 p.m. at 7144 South Jeffery Boulevard, which Chicago Fire Department officials said was accidental, caused by unattended cooking in a second-floor unit.
Other South Side Fires Also Under Scrutiny
In a separate incident in the 6700 block of South Crandon Avenue, also in South Shore, two civilians were hospitalized in serious condition, according to the Chicago Fire Department, as reported by FOX 32 Chicago. The cause of that fire was unclear, that report noted.
No additional information about Saturday's fire, including the condition of either injured resident or further findings from investigators, has been released. Hoodline will update this story as more details become available.
