Sept. 22--An 8-year-old boy has died after a suspicious fire in the Roseland neighborhood Saturday that also left his mother dead, authorities said.
Jovan Perkins was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after sustaining third-degree burns in the blaze, which started just before 2 a.m. Saturday in a three-story building in the 11200 block of South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. authorities said. He died overnight.
The Chicago Police Department's arson unit is investigating the cause of the extra-alarm fire. No suspects were in custody as of 4 a.m. Sunday, police said. Fire department spokesman Larry Langford said the fire was determined to be "suspicious" and while he declined to go into detail about why foul play was suspected, he said it was "based on evidence they found on the scene and the way the fire acted."
Perkins' mother, Millicent Brown-Johnson, died at Roseland Community Hospital early Saturday after suffering smoke inhalation during the fire.
Firefighters arriving at the apartment building Saturday morning found a stairwell "totally involved in fire," Chicago Fire Department Deputy Chief Don Hroma said. The fire appeared to have started in the stairwell, which is located inside the south portion of the building, he said.
Out of concern for the building's residents, firefighters called for an EMS Plan 1, bringing at least five ambulances to the scene. The fire was also elevated to a 2-11 alarm.
Firefighters found both victims during their initial searches of the building. Both were in serious-to-critical condition, officials said.
Shortly after firefighters extinguished the fire, police strung up yellow tape on the western side of King Drive. A sergeant asked reporters to stand behind the tape, calling the area in front of it a crime scene.
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