Seven firefighters injured fighting Rogers Park blaze

CHICAGO (STMW) - Seven firefighters were injured battling an extra-alarm fire that broke out Monday morning in a Rogers Park neighborhood apartment building on the North Side.

Crews responded to the blaze at the four-story building in the 1700 block of West Estes at 5:52 a.m., Chicago Fire Department Cmdr. Frank Velez said.

Firefighters found heavy fire coming out of a stairwell in the front of the building, and the stairwell eventually gave out, Velez said. A mayday was called at 6:09 a.m. after a firefighter suffered a knee injury.

Six other firefighters also suffered minor injuries, most of which were slip-and-falls due to the weather, Velez said. Three were taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, and four were taken to Swedish Covenent Hospital. All their conditions were stabilized.

The fire was extinguished a short time later, though crews remained at the scene as of 9:30 a.m. conducting salvage operations.

The entire 45-unit building was occupied at the time of the fire, Velez said, but no residents were injured. The number of residents displaced by the blaze was not immediately known.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.