Keith Hildibrand, 14, stared helplessly at the charred remains of the Maywood apartment building that had been his home.
There on Saturday, rescuers searched for the body of his 25-year-old sister, Yousra Thomas, believed to have died Friday night while alerting other residents of the blaze that killed her husband and injured 12 others.
Her husband, Marshall Keith Thomas Jr., 26, died while rescuing tenants of the building at 306 N. 5th Ave. He dashed back inside as fire consumed the structure, telling bystanders that he had to find his wife, Hildibrand said. He never came out.
Hildibrand and his family spent most of Saturday visiting area hospitals, hoping to find his sister, and returning to the scene, watching firefighters sift through rubble.
”If she wasn`t in there, she would be here,” Hildibrand said. ”I hope she`s not in there, but I have a feeling she is.”
More Top Picks Best Handheld Magnifiers For Low Vision
Meanwhile Saturday, Maywood police and the Cook County state`s attorney`s office were questioning individuals in connection with the blaze, which left about 80 residents homeless, authorities said.
Police said Friday night that they were investigating the fire as arson. Late Saturday, police had two suspects in custody, but no arrests had been made, according to Officer Kevin Green.
Maywood Police Lt. Harold Jenkins said authorities were questioning several individuals and were trying to verify a report that the fire was started as a result of a dispute over a drug debt.
April Lewis, 34, and her daughter Ophelia, 7, were in critical condition at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, being treated for burns and smoke inhalation, said a hospital spokesman. Hector Lopez, 40, who suffered spinal injuries when he jumped from a second-floor window, was in fair condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Seven other injured building residents and two Maywood firefighters were taken to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park and were treated and released, hospital officials said.
The fire apparently began in the back of the building and spread quickly through the 3 1/2-story structure, prompting adults to hurl children from windows to safety and adults to leap from the building`s second floor.
Firefighters, who received the first reports of the blaze at 6:45 p.m. Friday, rescued as many as 10 residents by helping them down on ladders, said Maywood Fire Chief Dennis Hoffman. Many of those were taken to hospitals, he said.
The fire spread through a 3-story connecting corridor to the front section of the building on 5th Avenue, firefighters said. Firefighters from at least 10 suburbs helped fight the blaze.
The building suffered ”total structural damage,” with its roof collapsing through to the first floor, according to Fire Capt. Kevin Conway.
Tracy Smith, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross, said the agency had helped about 80 people, providing them with food, clothing and cots. The Red Cross also had placed four families in motels, Smith said.
Fire officials and Smith said that the rest of the building`s occupants most likely had moved in with friends or relatives.