Chicago blaze kills 8

Photo by. Associated Press CHICAGO — Six children and two adults were killed in an apartment fire in Southwest Chicago early Sunday morning.

At a press conference, Chicago Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago said “We have not had this in many, many, many years, this amount of fatalities and injuries in one location.”

Two more children were transported to a local hospital in critical condition, Chicago Police told Xinhua.

Officials said that one contributing factor was that the apartment where the fire started did not have smoke detectors.

Santiago said that a woman noticed the fire and called 911, then began knocking on neighbors’ doors to alert them to the fire. “That saved a lot of lives,” he added.

One firefighter was injured at the scene and transported to the hospital. Santiago said he is in good condition.