2 men dead in Back of the Yards apartment fire

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The fire began in the rear bedroom of a third-floor apartment in the 1200 block of West 52^nd Street, then spread to the building’s porch and up to the three-story building’s attic, officials said.

The flames may have blocked the only exit leading out of the small attic apartment, where the victims were found.

“They had no other way out of the building,” said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. “If there had been working smoke detectors, it’s possible the men up there would have known what was going on… and been able to get out.”

The two men have not yet been identified. Fire officials said one of the victims was in his 20s, and the other was in his 40s.

The call to 911 came at 1:13 p.m., and firefighters arrived three minutes later. Members of a special rescue unit searched the 3 1/2-story brick building even as flames continued to curl from the windows.

Most of the building’s tenants were not home at the time of the blaze.

Reached by phone, a man who identified himself as the owner of the building said he doesn't live there, but rushed to the scene after a tenant called with world of the fire. He did not know how the fire started, but said that all the apartments in the building were rented out; the woman on the third floor lives there with her children, he said.

Residents said there is one apartment on each floor of the building, and another in the attic.

Police said detectives were called to the scene as well as officials from the Chicago Police Bomb and Arson Unit, said Chicago police news affairs officer Daniel O'Brien.