Two Injured In North Side, Chicago Apartment Fire

Personal Injury - Unsafe Premises - January 4, 2025

High-Rise Apartment Fire in North Side, Chicago, Near State Street and Maple Street, Injured Two People

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (January 4, 2025) – Two people were injured in a high-rise apartment fire in Chicago’s North Side neighborhood near State Street and Maple Street.

Cook County officials are saying that the incident took place around 6:49 a.m. on Thursday. Firefighters and paramedics were called to the scene in order to help the victims.

Two people were transported to the hospital. One person sustained critical injuries in the fire.

The source of the fire is thought to involve the discarding of smoking materials.

Liability for Chicago Apartment Fires

Residential fires remain one of the major causes of preventable injury and death. According to the National Fire Protection Association, “In 2023, local fire departments responded to an estimated 1.39 million fires in the United States. These fires caused an estimated 3,670 civilian fire deaths and 13,350 reported civilian fire injuries. The property damage caused by these fires was estimated at $23 billion.” Apartment fires may be caused by many different factors.

• A fire may start due to some electrical malfunction.
• A fire may start because of a cooking accident.
• A fire may start due to a space heater being left near clothes.

Property owners in Illinois have a legal obligation to protect guests from reasonably foreseeable sources of harm. This requires that they follow all of the fire codes. When a property owner has actual or constructive notice of a dangerous condition with their property, they must take action. There are several ways that a property owner may have been negligent if someone is injured in a fire.

• An apartment may have lacked working smoke alarms that would have warned residents about the fire.
• An apartment owner may have failed to perform needed maintenance on appliances.
• An apartment owner may have allowed exits for the building to become obstructed.

It can be hard to know where to begin after any apartment fire. Victims of apartment fires often sustain very serious and life-changing injuries. In particular, many people burned in fires will need to undergo expensive skin grafts. It is important that these victims understand that they do have rights. They are able to seek some measure of justice through a civil claim. A personal injury attorney can examine all of the unique facts of any case and let you know what your legal options are.

Investigating Chicago Apartment Fires

We at Horwitz Horwitz & Associates extend our best wishes to all of the people injured in this North Side, Chicago apartment fire. Any person who may have more information about what happened should reach out to the police. It is our hope that measures are taken to make this apartment safer for everyone.

Have you or someone that you care about been injured in a Chicago apartment fire? Our team of personal injury attorneys is here to help in any way that we can. We care deeply that accident victims get the support and justice that they are entitled to under the law. Whether you just have legal questions or need any type of support, we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime at (312) 564-4256.