Tenth Child Dies After Sunday Fire In Little Village
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A tenth child has died of his injuries from a Sunday morning fire in the Little Village neighborhood. Fourteen-year-old Adrian Hernandez had been on life support since Sunday morning at Stroger Hospital, and was pronounced dead at 11:12 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
Eight children died the day of the fire. A ninth died Monday night, after families of the fire victims had spent most of the day remembering their loved ones lost in the blaze in the 2200 block of South Sacramento. Fire officials have said there were no working smoke detectors in the home.
Relatives said the children who died were having a sleepover. They ranged in age from 3 months to 16 years, according to their families.
The children who died Sunday included 3-month-old Amaya Almaraz, 3-year-old Alanni Ayala, 5-year-old Ariel Garcia, 5-year-old GIalanni Ayala, 10-year-old Giovanni Ayala, 11-year-old Xavier Contreras, 13-year-old Nathan Contreras, and 16-year-old Victor Mendoza.
Caesar Contreras, 14, battled on life support until late Monday. The medical examiner's office said he was pronounced dead Monday at Stroger Hospital.
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"That's unheard of in the city of Chicago. We haven't lost this many people in – I can't even count back to when we lost this many lives – and these are young people," said Chicago Fire Deputy District Chief Annette Nance Holt.
There are reports that the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) are now probing the lack of supervision in the home.
"Imagine if you would've had smoke detectors in the building. Maybe those young people would be alive today. I'm guessing they would have," Holt said.
Inspection reports reveal the city was inside the home in June investigating electrical concerns, but that has been ruled out as a cause. The family says the back porch, where the fire started, was commonly used for fireworks and smoking.
A Go Fund Me account has been set up for the family to help give the nine children a proper burial: https://www.gofundme.com/support-families-mourning
