Police Still Questioning Man After Tuesday Fatal House Fire
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago police are still questioning a person of interest in connection with Tuesday's fatal fire that killed three young sisters and another man.
Firefighters found 7-year-old Shaniya Staples and 4-year-old Madison Watson dead in their third floor apartment. The youngest, 3-month-old Melanie Watson also died in spite of her father's valiant effort to escape by jumping out the window.
As CBS2's Roseanne Tellez reports, the building is boarded and now a memorial Wednesday as fire officials got back to work at the scene of the deadly fire at 81st and Essex streets in South Chicago.
An ATF dog on the job sniffing for accelerants and signs of arson is just one tool of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigators as they search for the cause of the fire.
A neighbor has no explanation for her daughter as to why the fire happened, but came to the scene to pray for those lost.
"I feel terrible for what they're going through I couldn't imagine,"a resident said.
One resident told CBS2 an angry neighbor started the fire early Tuesday after she refused to give him $10. Police confirm he is a person of interest and are still questioning him. No one has been charged.
"Everybody's just shocked because he's not that type of person that I know of," a neighborhood resident said.
A mother of two, this resident says the tragedy has left her overwhelmed.
"I have kids, schools going to start. Only been there a month. My mind just gone," Danita says. "
"(all of your things ...) thing that I own is in there. Everything."
The Red Cross says about 21 people, including six children, reached out for help Tuesday. The received the equivalent of debit cards to help them with food, clothing and a place to stay.
