7 Renters, 1 Firefighter Injured In South Side Motel Fire

By Anna Deem in News on Mar 5, 2011 7:30PM

A three-alarm fire at the Lake Motel in the 9100 block of South Stony Island Avenue in Calumet Heights gutted most of the motel and left seven people injured early Saturday morning. Police were notified about the fire around 3:42 a.m., and it was upgraded to a 3-11 alarm around 4 a.m., eventually leaving the motel at a "total loss," said Fire Media Affairs Cmdr. Will Knight to the Chicago Tribune. Around 8:45 a.m., officials declared the fire to be under control.

Knight revealed that one firefighter was brought to Advocate Christ Medical Center in fair-to-serious condition, but his condition has now stabilized. He also said that the seven building residents who suffered minor injuries were taken to nearby hospitals in good condition, with four of them at Advocate Trinity Hospital and two at Jackson Park Hospital. In addition, the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago and the CTA were on-scene, helping residents from the motel and providing warming buses, according to Red Cross spokesman Josh Norton.