Watch CBS News

Family Grieves After House Fire Kills Baby, Injures Father

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A weekend filled with joy and happiness turns to sadness and sorry.

Heartbreak hitting a family after a fire kills a baby and destroys their South Side home. The seven-month-old baby died as everyone tried to escape the flames.

CBS 2's Vi Nguyen has more on what investigators think may have caused the fire.

Authorities are calling it a tragic accident and believe a stove may have caused the fire. Two adults and seven children were home at the time when the fire broke out.

What happened inside the West Englewood home early Sunday morning near 59th and Hermitage is a reminder of how quickly life can change in the blink of an eye.

"Everybody was home. I really don't know much but I just want ya'll to say a prayer for them," said the victim's great aunt Mary White. "Just got to keep hope alive."

A seven-month-old baby is now gone and his 51-year-old father is still fighting for his life at the hospital in critical condition.

"For a mother to lose her baby, she's not doing well at all. I don't think Tony knows about the baby yet," White said.

Family identified the baby as Treshun Estes.

"I seen my grandson yesterday. He was smiling and laughing and now he's gone. He's in a better place now. God bless his soul," said the baby's grandmother Sylvia White.

The fire happened just before 2:00 Sunday morning. Firefighters got to the scene and saw fire coming from the first floor of the single family home. Firefighters rescued two children from the burning home and said the father had to jump out of a window to safety.

"My son-in-law, his kids, oh my god he's loves them dearly. It's just a sad tragedy that happened," said White.

His seven children, including step-children ranging in age from seven months old to 17 years old.

"Two of my grandsons right now taking it so hard. One is 10 and the other is 11. They're taking it real, real hard," said  Sylvia White.

She said her daughter and the baby's father got married and celebrated their wedding the night before.

"This was a beautiful wedding yesterday that my daughter had," said Sylvia White. "Now I'm gonna bury my grandson and it's so sad."

The district deputy fire chief said they did not find smoke detectors as of yet and no one heard the alarms go off.

Meanwhile, the family started a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of the funeral and other expenses.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.