Firefighter injured in West Woodlawn blaze

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A firefighter suffered minor injuries Friday morning while working a fire in the West Woodlawn neighborhood.

A neighbor first spotted the flames in the back porch of the apartment at 6223 S. Vernon Ave. and called 911. Then she ran upstairs to wake up the building’s residents.

“I ran downstairs and saw the flames,” Paula Lasalle said. “They were all in the back. I went upstairs and started banging on everyone’s doors to get them out.”

One firefighter was injured while working the fire, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt. They were taken to University of Chicago Medical Center for minor injuries.

The fire was limited to the building’s rear, enclosed porch. No one was displaced from their apartment.