Authorities said a man died after starting an extra-alarm fire that damaged three structures Thursday night in the city’s Gage Park neighborhood.
The man, 56, was inside a two-story frame house on the 5000 block of South Campbell Avenue when he started a fire just after 6:40 p.m., according to Chicago police and fire officials.
The fire, which rose to a 2-11 alarm, spread to two separate buildings, one to the north and another to the south, authorities said.
Arriving fire crews encountered heavy fire and smoke, a fire spokesperson said. When crews made entry, they found one person who was pronounced dead on the scene, officials said. The fire was extinguished just before 8 p.m. The dead man’s identity wasn’t immediately released.
The blaze caused severe damage to the originating residence and damage to the structures to the north and south due to the “extent and intensity of the fire,” the CFD spokesperson said.
There were no other reported injuries, according to police. Detectives were investigating the incident as arson.
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