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West Garfield Park Building Partially Collapses In Fire

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Part of a three-story apartment building collapsed in the West Garfield Park neighborhood late Wednesday night, after a fire and possible explosion.

CBS 2's Susanna Song reports firefighters were waiting for building inspectors to allow them to begin searching the rubble for victims in what's left of the apartment building near Van Buren Street and Kostner Avenue.

Firefighters responded to a fire at the building around 10 p.m. , and extinguished the blaze around midnight. At some point, the second and third floors in the rear of the building collapsed onto the first floor.

Neighbors said they heard a loud explosion around 10 p.m., and then saw a huge fire.

"There was a big blast," neighbor Carla Owens said. "We jumped up and came to window, and the whole building was on fire. Every floor was burning," neighbor Carla Owens said.

Firefighters put the fire out by midnight.

Neighbors across the street said there were people living in the building, and they heard someone inside screaming, but authorities have been unable to search the building, because it's not structurally sound. Firefighters were waiting for the green light from city building inspectors.

Owens said there were families living on every floor of the building.

Neighbor Glenn Johnson said, "All we saw was fire, and a lot of people just running, and hollering at building, hoping that there was nobody in there."

Reshay Ingral said she was "in total shock."

"I couldn't even believe this was happening," she said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

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