Investigators have released more details following Thursday afternoon’s two-alarm apartment house fire near 52nd and Leighton that left one person dead. LFR Public Information Officer MJ Lierman says the fire started in an outside window well.
“It progressed up the side of the building, but then it got into the soffits and also the attic space.” Lierman says the flames consumed the building’s only stairwell exit. “The two upper floor apartments couldn’t come down the stairwell to get out so they needed to be rescued from the balcony.”
Firefighters used ladders to get the two residents and a dog to safety. Lierman says one person was found dead near the ground level exit. Several cats were inside the five unit house and were able to escape after firefighters opened the doors.
The fire broke out around 3:50 p.m. and a second alarm was called four minutes later. The fire was under control at 4:08 p.m. The cause of the fire is not yet known.