Before the noise of glass breaking on Saturday afternoon, Sheila Epps heard her kids.
“Like, ‘Mom! Mom! Mom!’ And, I’m like, ‘What?’ They were like, ‘It’s a fire!'” Epps said.
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That yelling led her to the thick black smoke coming from outside, near the back of her apartment.
“So, I stuck my head out, and I seen there were flames coming from the third floor. And, I’m like, ‘How? Ain’t no one staying up there?’ So, my super instincts kicked in, grabbed the kids and get out,” Epps said.
Soon, several families would be out of their homes, watching as a fast-moving fire burned through several units on the second and third floor of the apartment building at South Champlain Avenue and East 80th Street in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood.
“The community neighbors, they were so helpful. They brought out covers, they brought out coats, they brought shoes and clothing because we didn’t have any. This is not my coat. I came out just like this,” Epps said.