Construction worker critically injured in explosion, fire in Ravenswood

CHICAGO - A construction worker was seriously injured in an explosion in Ravenswood Saturday morning.

Chicago police said a fire and small explosion broke out in the basement of a building in the 1600 block of West Winona Street at 11:30 a.m.

People were inside the building with their pets when the incident occurred. Many scrambled to get out of the building in time.

The homeowner said three construction workers were applying sealant to the basement when she heard and felt the explosion. 

Ellen Dellorto said she was in her living room at the time when she heard a loud noise.

"I felt the floor pop up. All of a sudden, there was all this smoke. I ran to the back and said, ‘What happened?’ and I looked in the basement and saw flames," Ellen said. 

She handed the worker a fire extinguisher, but the flames pressed him back. 

The fire spread quickly through the first floor and the roof of the home. 

Ellen said she was focused on getting her 90-year-old mother, Bea Dellorto, down from the second-floor, who heard the noise as well.

"Somebody tried to carry me down the stairs, and I told them to leave me alone. I will get myself down, and I did," Bea said. 

But, her two-year-old cat named Loki was overcome by the smoke. 

Ellen said her mother is devastated by the loss. 

"She just kept saying, ‘have they found her? Have they found Loki?’ And I kept asking them if they found my cat. Then finally, they said that he didn’t make it," Ellen said. 

Homeowner, Mary Dellorto, was not in the building at the time, but she raced back to check on her family.

"It looks salvageable, but it will take a long time to get fixed," said Mary. 

The house is 100-years-old and has been owned by the Dellorto family for 24 years. 

Four people were displaced and the Chicago Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire.