Chicago community steps up to help homeless families displaced by fire

CHICAGO - Already displaced by the hardships of life, several families are now displaced by a fire at a homeless encampment in Chicago.

When a fire broke out under the Kennedy Expressway on Monday morning, two tents that four people lived in went up in flames. They lost pretty much everything they had and others suffered damage, too.

Now, the community has stepped in to help.

William Sanchez is one of about a dozen or more people who call the Belmont Avenue underpass home. On Monday, he woke up to a woman screaming and 10-foot flames outside of his tent.

“I was the only one here with a cell phone at the time so thank God I called 9-1-1,” he said.

He is thankful for the outpouring of support from the community.

“A guy came and brought me tarps, and he brought me insulation,” Sanchez said.

Since the news broke of the fire, Sanchez says people have been pulling up with donations.

“They donated tents, they donated clothes, food, cat food, everything. I'm so grateful for that,” he said.

A GoFundMe page has already raised more than $1,600 to help the families recover, and potentially help get them housing.

Ali Simmons with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless says that is what they really need and is working to help them accomplish that goal.

“Until the city decides that it wants to create more affordable housing and start putting an effort toward that, this is what you're going to have,” Simmons said.

Fire officials say the fire was caused by an open flame, but it's unclear from what.