Girl, 5, dies in bunkbed, dad hurt during Englewood blaze

CHICAGO - A young girl died and her father was injured during an accidental fire Tuesday morning in the Englewood neighborhood, officials said.

Firefighters were called to a top floor apartment at 511 W. Marquette Rd., about 7:15 a.m. where they found the girl, 5, deceased, according to Chicago fire and police officials.

A family of five lived there and fire officials on the scene told reporters the fire may have been caused by a child playing with a lighter.

The 5-year-old was found in a bunk bed moments after paramedics from an ambulance returning to their quarters at a nearby firehouse from an unrelated run noticed fire and smoke surging from the second floor window, department spokesman Larry Langford said.

Crews from Engine 54 and Truck 20 arrived "seconds later," and burst into the building. "Family on the scene told them where the child was," Langford said. The bed was "pretty much consumed" with fire, said Langford.

Firefighters simultaneously searched the building and extinguished the fire, which also left a man with "minor burns," said Langford. He was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center.

A family of five lived in the apartment — the 5-year-old girl, her father, mother and two other kids, according to the building’s owner, Elliott Williams.

"I saw an ambulance and I had an ominous feeling," Williams said. "…I never want anybody to get hurt, that’s the big thing. I’m devastated to know that the baby girl was in there."

The cause of the fire, which was contained to one apartment, was determined to be accidental, and officials are investigating if a child was playing with a lighter before it broke out, fire officials on the scene said.

A working smoke detector was in the home, but the family didn’t hear it go off, the officials said.

About five people were displaced from the multi-unit apartment building, but no other injuries were reported, police said. Other tenants were evacuated, but it wasn’t clear if they also were displaced.

Around 9:30 a.m., windows in the top-floor unit were shattered, and some of the exterior walls were scorched black as crews worked inside.

Police cars blocked off the street as some neighbors observed fire officials working the scene.