


One person is under investigation after a fire tore through one home in Blue Island and damaged two neighboring buildings early Monday morning, city officials say.
Firefighters responded to “heavy fire conditions” that erupted at the 2038 Vermont St. residence at about 4 a.m., damaging an adjacent home and business, Vanessa’s Beauty Salon, the city said in a news release Monday afternoon.
Spokesperson Tom Wogan would not disclose the name of the person in custody or how the fire started.
“The gentleman who is in custody does have some burn injuries,” Wogan said.
The man was being treated at a hospital and has not been charged, Wogan said. One firefighter who responded was also treated for heat exhaustion and another refused medical care, he said.
Wogan said no inhabitants of the home were present when the fire began. Two cats, a ferret and a dog were rescued, though the dog, a German shepherd, escaped and has not been found, fire Chief David Haywood said.
“Our guys got him into a yard, but with all the chaos and stuff, they might have opened the gate and he might have got out,” Haywood said.
The family was offered housing support from the Red Cross but declined, opting to stay with family, Wogan said.
Families and individuals sat in nearby yards and on front steps Monday morning, shaded by umbrellas with the temperature above 80 degrees, as firefighters continued cleanup efforts into the afternoon, preventing traffic on the Vermont Street.
Edward Castellano said police woke him early Monday morning, banging on the door of his home next door to the house where the fire started.
He said a little before that, he believed he heard a loud sound but wasn’t sure if it was a dream.
“I was in a deep sleep, and I thought I heard a boom, an explosion,” Castellano said.
He said he guessed it could have been a car crash or something more minor than a house fire.
Catellano, 55, said his home, where he lives alone, is uninhabitable due to damage to its foundation. He waited Monday morning at a neighbor’s home across the street’s front steps for his sister to pick him up.
He said he felt sad recalling memories of his home that was passed down through relatives. He also said he regularly got his hair cut at Vanessa’s Beauty Salon, which was vacated Monday afternoon.
“My grandparents lived there, and I grew up in this house too,” Castellano said. “After school, I’d go there and watch cartoons and drink coffee with my grandfather, spend a lot of time there.”
The city said police and the Office of the State Fire Marshal continued to investigate the fire.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com