Gangs, Guns & Drugs (NOH)
update on fire
Labor Day weekend began with a tragedy Saturday, when a fire swept through the third floor apartment of the three flat at 7606 N. Marshfield, killing 6 children and sending two others to area hospitals.
All but one are members of the Ramirez family. The deceased are Vanessa, 14, Erick, 12, Suzette, 10, Idaly, 6, and Kevin, 3. Escarlet Ramos, a 3–year-old, who was spending the night with the family, also perished. Seven year old William, sixteen year old Natali and 3-month-old Abiedch are the only surviving children. William and Natali are still hospitalized.
The fire started shortly after midnight. According to one area resident, who checked his cell phone, he called 911 at 12:15. The Chicago Fire Department said that trucks were dispatched by the 911 center at 12:19, they arrived three minutes later.
Commissioner Ray Orazco, clearly stunned by the magnitude of the tragedy said, "What do you say? There's nothing you can say. It's been the worst in a long time. The only thing you can do is just pray for these poor people."
Alderman Moore was contacted by the Chicago Fire Department but they were unable to reach him. According to Larry Langford of the news affairs office, they always contact the alderman if there is a fire fatality in their ward.
Neighbors questioned the city’s response to the fire because there was no police on the scene when the smoke was pouring out of the building.
“The police are here 24/7,” said one resident. “There is never a time they aren’t here. Where were they for this?”
Residents of the area smelled the smoke and quickly responded once they identified the source. They found Augusta Ramirez in the yard, screaming for her children, holding 3-month –old Abiedch. Amado Ramirez, the father, was not at home when the fire started.
Curtis Howk, after hearing there were eight children in the house, ran up the back stairs with numerous other area residents and kicked the door down, only to be rebuffed by the heat, smoke and flames.
Undaunted, he and the others ran around the front to try to gain entry.
“Marlon Willis, one of the many attempting to help said, “There were people in our neighborhood trying to save these kids.”
While they were in the back, Albert Tillman of Lansing, Il, who was visiting family, saw two children hanging from the window ledge in front of the building with smoke pouring out over their heads. He ran up the front, kicked in the door of the second floor, alerting Myron Hall and his family to the fire, then ran to the third floor and grabbed the boy from the ledge.
He ran downstairs and dropped him off and was going up for the second child, when Chicago Police, now on the scene, prevented his reentry.
Tillman said, “They told me we don’t need your help,” and threatened him with arrest if he went back in. “I have five kids of my own. I did what anyone would have dome.”
The fire trucks were not yet on the scene.
Michael Condo, another resident, said, “He’s the real hero. He ran in there fearlessly. He’s a real American. He should be commended and applauded, and then the Chicago Police Department treats him. When someone stands up and stands out, you should be commended for that. He deserves a ghetto purple heart”
The preliminary investigation showed that candles being used for lighting caused the fire. The family has been without electricity for months.
They were well liked by neighbors, who said the children were always playing in the back yard. Many neighbors had given them clothes and fed the children, knowing the family’s financial situation. One girl said she always saw all of them walking to the beach. The neighborhood kids were devastated by the deaths.
“I just saw them at 7 o’clock. Five hours later they’re dead. That’s really hard to take.”
Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford, questioned some of the young men who tried to enter the building to save the children. He asked one young man if he heard smoke detectors going off when they kicked in the back door.
“All I heard was kids screaming,” was the response.
The building is owned by Jay Johnson who owns seven buildings in the area and is on Joe Moore’s (49th) zoning advisory committee. Though the preliminary investigations showed there were no smoke detectors in the apartment, Moore said that the apartments have detectors and they are all “hard-wired”. He also noted that the building recently was inspected and passed.
Paramedics worked feverishly to resuscitate the victims. When asked how many children they had gotten out, one paramedic said, “I don’t know. It was a conveyor belt. God bless the slumlord.”
