Large house fire in Lakeview leaves residents displaced

CHICAGO – Several people are displaced after a large house fire in Lakeview Sunday morning.

It happened at around 6 a.m. in the 1400 block of West Fletcher Street and was declared a two-alarm fire.

Chicago fire officials have yet to release details on what caused the blaze, but did say the building is a total loss. City crews even had to coordinate a controlled demolition of the home as part of the backside had already collapsed.

WGN News spoke with Samantha McNelis who lives one building down from the home that caught fire. She said while the fire did not reach her home, water did.

“I don’t know how the water thing works with the fire hydrants, but it caused the basement in my apartment to flood completely,” McNelis said.

She added her roommate woke up to 18 inches of water in the basement.

“She told me the doors literally burst open from the water pressure downstairs,” McNelis said. “When my roommate woke up it was up to her knees, and then when I got here it was up to the doorknobs.”

McNelis and her roommate will have to find another place to stay Sunday as she said her home is uninhabitable.

By the afternoon, the light of day showed the extent of the damage both inside and outside the home. No residents or firefighters were injured.

For safety reasons, city crews prepared the home for controlled demolition.

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