10th child dies from devastating fire that tore through Chicago home

No working smoke detectors were in the home.

ByEmily Shapiro
August 28, 2018, 3:10 PM

A tenth child has died from a blaze that erupted in a Chicago home early Sunday.

The victims range in age from 3 months to 16 years old and are from at least two families, according to ABC station WLS in Chicago.

The death toll first stood at eight, with two teenagers in the hospital in critical condition. But one of the survivors, a 14-year-old boy, died on Monday, according to WLS. The second survivor died on Tuesday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

PHOTO: Wood crosses hold victims' names at the scene of a fire that killed at least eight people, including six children, Aug. 26, 2018, in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.
Wood crosses hold victims' names at the scene of a fire that killed at least eight people, including six children, Aug. 26, 2018, in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.
Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/TNS/Newscom

The children were at a sleepover when the fire started, 15-year-old Marcos Contreras told The Chicago Tribune.

"By the time we got here, the whole house was on fire," he said. "They were taking out my cousins and my brothers."

PHOTO: People gather near the scene of a fire that killed at least eight people, including six children, Aug. 26, 2018, in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.
People gather near the scene of a fire that killed at least eight people, including six children, Aug. 26, 2018, in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.
Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/TNS/Newscom

Contreras lost brothers, sisters and cousins in the blaze, WLS reported.

"It just feels like my whole world is crashing,” he said. "We stuck together like glue. Nothing could separate us."

PHOTO: Jessie Cobos, who said he was the father of victims Giovanni, 10, Gialanni, 5, and Alanni, 3, including six children, Aug. 26, 2018, in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.
Jessie Cobos, who said he was the father of victims Giovanni, 10, Gialanni, 5, and Alanni, 3, crouches near wood crosses at the scene of a fire that killed at least eight people, including six children, Aug. 26, 2018, in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.
Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/TNS/Newscom
PHOTO: Family, friends and neighbors mourn the loss of eight people, including six children, who perished in an early-morning fire, Aug. 26, 2018, in Chicago.
Family, friends and neighbors mourn the loss of eight people, including six children, who perished in an early-morning fire, Aug. 26, 2018, in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

The home did not have any working smoke detectors, according to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

"The fire began in the rear and the exit to the front was clear but without working smoke detectors the occupants were not awakened in time to get to safety," the mayor said in a statement Sunday.

PHOTO: Firefighters continue to work at the scene of a residential fire where eight people perished, including six children, Aug. 26, 2018, in Chicago.
Firefighters continue to work at the scene of a residential fire where eight people perished, including six children, Aug. 26, 2018, in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

"Our thoughts go out to not only the families of those who perished but to members of the department who pushed as hard as possible to reverse the deadly fate of the eight who are now gone," the mayor added.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, WLS said.