The Latest: 200 firefighters fought deadly Chicago blaze


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CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on a fire that killed four people at a Chicago apartment building (all times local):

9:20 a.m.

Chicago fire officials say it took some 200 firefighters from 58 fire companies about three hours to put out a fire that killed two girls, an infant and a man.

Chicago Deputy Fire Commissioner Arriel Gray said at a Tuesday morning news conference that firefighters found the apartment building's interior and exterior stairwells burned out. Gray says "most stairwells were compromised" and firefighters couldn't use them. He says that prevented them from attacking the blaze from inside the building.

The department responded to reports of the fire about 1:30 a.m.

Chicago police say the blaze appears to have been deliberately set after a domestic argument. Gray says the fire was suspicious and is under investigation. He says the department has its bomb and arson squad on the scene.

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9:05 a.m.

Chicago fire officials say a 4-year-old, a 6-year-old and a 3-month-old, all girls, died in an apartment fire.

The Cook County medical examiner on Tuesday morning identified the baby girl as Melanie Watson. She was pronounced dead at 2:40 a.m. at Comer Children's Hospital.

A man also died in the Tuesday morning blaze in an apartment building on the city's South Side. Chicago police say the fire appears to have been set deliberately after a domestic argument.

Chicago Deputy Fire Commissioner Arriel Gray says the 4-year-old and 6-year-old girls were found dead in an apartment on the third floor. The man was found dead in an adjacent third floor apartment.

The medical examiner says the two girls and man haven't been identified.

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This item has been corrected to show that the baby's name was Melanie, not Maline.

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8 a.m.

Police in Chicago say three children and a man have died in a fire at a Chicago apartment building that appears to have been deliberately set after a domestic dispute.

The Police Department emailed a statement saying a 3-month-old was pronounced dead at a hospital and two other children and a man were found dead later at the scene.

The fire began around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday in a three-story building in the South Chicago neighborhood.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says a preliminary investigation indicates a person returned to the building after a domestic dispute and set fire to the rear porch.

He says officers are searching for a "person of interest wanted for questioning."

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This item has been corrected to show that three children, not four, were killed in the fire, per police.

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7:50 a.m.

A police spokesman says four people have died in a fire at a Chicago apartment building that appears to have been deliberately set after a domestic dispute.

The fire began around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday in a three-story building in the South Chicago neighborhood.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says a preliminary investigation indicates a person returned to the building after a domestic dispute and set fire to the rear porch.

He says officers are searching for a "person of interest wanted for questioning."

He has no other details.

Witnesses told reporters they saw several people jumping from windows to escape.

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