By Stefano Esposito and Tina Sfondeles
The Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO — As thick smoke curled under apartment doors, some trapped residents of a Rogers Park apartment building flung open windows and screamed for help.
But one man couldn’t wait for firefighters. He jumped from the top floor of the five-story building at 6720 N. Sheridan during a “suspicious” blaze Thursday that left another resident dead.
Of the five injured — including two firefighters — only the jumper suffered life-threatening injuries, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. He was in critical condition. Investigators by Thursday evening had not identified the dead man, found in a fifth-floor hallway where the fire began around noon. The blaze engulfed that hallway, entered one unit and burned a small area on the fourth floor, Langford said.
Based on witness accounts and evidence, the case was turned over to the Chicago Police Department’s bomb and arson section, Langford said.
The fire displaced about a dozen people, Langford said.
Several residents said they were awakened by smoke and screaming. Firefighters on ladders rescued many on the fifth floor.
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