A half dozen dogs in neighboring row houses barked furiously. Long tongues of orange flame and bellowing clouds of dense black smoke filled the sky, signaling surrounding areas that a fire was nearby. In this lower-middle class neighborhood fires provided live entertainment at least once a month. While two firefighters struggled with connecting the heavy canvas hose to a fire hydrant, others grabbed axes and pulled on their protective coats and boots as they ran in the direction of the flames darting out of the rear windows of the small wood frame, one-story house. The Chief stood back, shouting orders to his men.
Neighbors say two adults and two kids.
It became clear, almost immediately, that they'd need more trucks. Chief O'Hare turned to his Captain. We're gonna need help with this one. The noise of the onlookers rose to a near crescendo when two charred bodies were carried out of the burning house, put on the ground, and covered with blankets. Suddenly there was a deafening roar as the fire broke through a large portion of the roof.