CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A five-story apartment caught on fire Wednesday morning in the Dunning neighborhood on the Northwest Side, killing one man and leaving a woman severely injured.
At 3:46 a.m., a fire broke out at a building in the 6400 block of West Belle Plaine Avenue, according to the Chicago Fire Department. Firefighters realized during the response the building was full of senior citizens. Fire Department Chief Walter Schroeder said an EMS Plan 1 was declared, bringing five ambulances to the scene.
Chief Schroeder said many residents "self-evacuated" againt the advice of the Fire Department which had wanted residents to remain in their units.
The fire was contained to one unit on the building's fifth floor.
Chief Schroeder said a woman and a man were taken to Community First Medical Center in critical condition. The man, 89, was pronounced dead later Wednesday morning.
Firefighters smothered the blaze by 4:45 a.m., CFD said.
CFD was investigating the cause of the fire.
The Cook County medical examiner's office did not immediately confirm the fatality.
Chief Schroeder said firefighters plan to be at the building later today to talk to residents about fire safety and to pass out fire safety literature.
