2 Children Among 3 Dead After ‘Suspicious’ Austin Apartment Fire

Three people, including two children, died after more than a hundred firefighters put out a “suspicious” fire early Thursday that torched an Austin apartment building. 

The two children were among three of the fire victims initially considered to be in “grave condition,” Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. 

The cause of deaths and identities of the victims are still unknown, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, but Larry Langford said two of the victims were children. Three other people were hospitalized. 

FOX 32 Chicago reported residents heard gunshots and a large boom before fire engulfed the large apartment building’s rear stairwell. The station reported the building is being considered a crime scene, with ATF investigators joining the investigation. 

The fire broke out around 2 a.m. Thursday at a three-story building in the 5200 block of West North Avenue, Langford said. 

A dozen ambulances rushed to the scene as firefighters used ladders to rescue several people from the building, Langford said. 

“The fire spread extremely rapidly. The back porches were destroyed, fire through the upper floor windows, the interior stairwell was already burned out,” Langford said. “Suspicious, yes.” 

Investigators are on the scene, Langford said. 

A police spokesperson said a report “is not yet finalized.”