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Cause of Edgewater Apartment Fire 'Incendiary,' Officials Say

By Josh McGhee | January 9, 2014 5:32pm
 One person was critically injured and a firefighter suffered a minor injury in the apartment building blaze at 5820 N. Sheridan Road that fire officials say was "incendiary."
Sheridan Road Fire
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CHICAGO — Fire officials said a blaze that critically injured a person in an Edgewater apartment building Wednesday was "incendiary," and have passed the investigation to the Chicago Police Department's bomb and arson squad.

One person was critically injured and several others were hospitalized, including a firefighter, after the fire broke out in the 5800 block of North Sheridan Road in Edgewater around 11 a.m. About 150 firefighters and medical personnel responded to help residents trapped in the blaze.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said investigators determined the blaze began in a second-floor rear apartment, and believe it "was most likely started by the actions of the human hand."

Police will now determine if the fire was set deliberately, or if it was an accident, he said.

For now, the cause remains undetermined, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police Department spokesman.

Jacklyn Cacom crawled out of the building from her third-floor apartment, she said.

"I opened the door and there was smoke everywhere — It was a nightmare," she said in tears alongside her daughter, Sheena Kelly, who also lives on the third floor of the building.

Fire officials said the building was completely evacuated and most of the fire was contained to a second-floor apartment. Most of the residents were able to move back into their homes Wednesday.

Contributing: Darryl Holliday and Benjamin Woodard