APTOPIX Chicago High Rise Fire

Chicago authorities say one person has died and eight others were taken to hospitals Wednesday as firefighters responded to a high-rise apartment building fire on the city’s South Side. Sophia King, the alderman for the area, says the person who died was found in the apartment where officials believe the fire began. Video from outside the building showed bright orange flames on multiple floors. Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt says the fire began on the 15th floor and traveled up to the 24th floor as firefighters worked to put it out.

Chicago authorities say a deadly fire in a high-rise apartment building was caused by someone smoking in a bedroom. The Chicago Fire Department says in a brief statement that the fire was accidental and investigators traced the cause to “careless use of smoking materials.” Investigators also found that a smoke detector in the unit where the blaze broke out was not working. Wednesday’s fire in the Kenwood neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side killed one person and sent eight more to the hospital. Authorities have not released any information yet on the person who died.