The fire started around 2:40 a.m. in the 9000 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in the Burnside neighborhood, said Deputy Chicago Fire Commissioner John McNicholas.
When the first firefighters got to the scene, they saw a heavy fire near the stairwell area on the south side of the building and residents hanging out of the windows, McNicholas said. An EMS Plan 1, which includes six ambulances, was called to the scene, and emergency crews elevated their response to a 2-11 alarm.
Nine people were rescued and displaced as a result of the fire, McNicholas said. Three were taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital with minor injuries. No firefighters were hurt.
"The fire was brought quickly under control," McNicholas said at the scene, adding that the fire was struck out in about 20 minutes. "Thank God the rescues were made and that there were no serious injuries."
Officials are calling the fire suspicious because of where it apparently started, McNicholas said.
However, the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
At the scene, displaced residents escaped the cold by sitting inside the nearby Evangelistic Crusaders Church of God in Christ. The church, located on the same block, owns the building that went up in flames, McNicholas said.
Some residents also stayed inside a CTA bus that served as a warming station.
Kenneth Rowe, 53, said he, his wife, his daughter-in-law and her toddler were asleep in their apartment on the third floor when the sound of smoke detectors went off.
Rowe said he opened the apartment’s front door and saw fire in the stairwell.
"It knocked me back a little bit," Rowe said.
The family called 911 immediately and waited a few minutes before the firefighters rescued them along with other residents.
"We had to wait only about five minutes, but it felt a lot longer," Rowe said.
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