A Chicago firefighter was seriously injured Sunday evening after falling from the roof of a three-story building during a fire in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, authorities said.
Around 6 p.m., first responders were called about people possibly trapped in a fire at an apartment building in the 800 block of North Hamlin Street, near West Iowa Street, according to Chicago Fire officials.
About 10 minutes after the initial response, a firefighter working on the roof lost his footing, causing him to fall into a skylight and collapse several stories into the building’s basement, said the deputy district chief of the CFD, Shun T. Hayes.
The firefighter, who was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition, was talking after the fall, authorities said. The incident triggered a call for help, sending around 100 rescuers to the scene.
After deeming conditions safe, the CFD search and rescue team searched the building and determined everyone had gotten out in time, Hayes said.
Firefighting efforts were complicated by what authorities called “storage conditions” on the second floor, although it was unclear whether those conditions caused the fire.
A number of people were displaced and taken to a makeshift shelter at the nearby Kelly Hall YMCA. Eight people refused to be taken to a hospital, authorities said.
The cause was still under investigation Sunday evening.
