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A 75-year-old woman is dead after a devastating house fire broke out in West Englewood late Tuesday night.
The victim has been identified by her grieving family as Juliana Smith.
Firefighters arrived at the 7000-block of South Bell Avenue around 10:15 p.m.
They found Smith inside the burning home with severe burns on her body.
Emergency crews rushed her to the University of Chicago Medical Center.
She was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Smith was a mother of five with a large family of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Her daughter described her as a “phenomenal woman” during a brief return to the scene.
Neighbor Noel Hylton, who lives next door, called it the worst fire he had ever seen.
Hylton’s wife was asleep when the blaze began and woke up to the smell of heavy smoke.
She looked out the window to find the house next door engulfed in massive flames.
Second Fire Erupts Nearby on South Oakley
Only hours later, a second major fire erupted just a few miles away.
Emergency crews responded to the 6300-block of South Oakley Avenue shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.
The intensity of this blaze was so high that it spread to three separate homes.
A 39-year-old woman was rescued from that scene and taken to the hospital.
She remains in serious condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
One neighbor reported that the flames nearly reached the roof of his own house.
His son was sleeping inside when the fire broke out right next door.
Four adults were displaced from their homes due to the damage on Oakley Avenue.
No other injuries were reported in either incident.
