Nearby homes and an apartment building in Harvey were extensively damaged Sunday after a large fire that started in an abandoned home spread, displacing 11 residents who are in search of temporary housing, officials said.
Margaret Shelton, a longtime resident of Harvey now living in Calumet City, recently moved out of an apartment building next to the abandoned home that caught fire, where her son, daughter and granddaughter still reside.
Shelton said the unit where her children and granddaughter lived was completely destroyed, but fortunately they were not home during the blaze. Her son had just left the house, while her daughter and granddaughter were on their way back from Shelton’s home in Calumet City.
Still, Shelton said they lost everything and, without renters insurance, she doesn’t know how they’re going to recoup their belongings.
Shelton is particularly concerned for her daughter, who is nine months pregnant and staying in a hotel covered by Red Cross, she said.
“Everything for the newborn baby was inside of the house. Everything for my granddaughter was inside of the house,” Shelton said. “They lost a lot yesterday.”
Harvey fire Chief Howard Fisher said Monday firefighters at the nearby fire station spotted flames coming from an abandoned building on the 1500 block of Center Avenue Sunday afternoon. Shortly after, crews were dispatched and reached the scene at 11:43 a.m.
Upon arrival, crews attempted to search the home, but the flames and smoke were too intense, forcing them to withdraw, Fisher said.
“Fire and smoke was too intense for the firefighters, so we kind of pushed them back out of the building,” he said. “That’s when the roof collapsed.”
Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark said in a statement the flames spread to four to six nearby homes before firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze.
At one point, 40 to 50 firefighters from 15 neighboring communities were at the scene attempting to contain the fire, which took roughly two hours to extinguish, Fisher said.
While battling the flames, he said crews had to tap into fire hydrants farther from the scene to maintain adequate water pressure. This was because ladder trucks pump 2,000 gallons of water per minute, and if all the trucks draw from the same source, he said the water pressure drops, making it harder to extinguish the fire.
Although no serious injuries were reported, Fisher said an older woman with asthma was taken to UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey for treatment of smoke inhalation.
Shelton said while the house next door was abandoned, it was often inhabited by squatters which posed frequent safety concerns for her and her family.
Representatives from Red Cross were at the scene Sunday afternoon helping residents find temporary housing, Fisher said.
Harvey officials are inviting community members to bring donations to City Hall, 15320 Broadway Ave., to support the families affected by the fire.
“In the spirit of community, we invite churches, families, and any residents who would like to help to bring donations to City Hall,” Clark’s statement reads. “We will ensure that all donations reach the families in need as they begin the process of rebuilding and recovery.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Fisher said investigators came back to the scene Monday hoping to determine what led to the fire.
After driving past the burned apartment building Monday morning, Shelton said she saw crews cleaning up the debris. but as for her son and daughter, she said they don’t plan to come back because none of their belongings survived.
“There’s nothing for them,” she said. “There’s nothing there.”
smoilanen@chicagotribune.com
