Sadly, a resident of the Cambridge Apartments, a fifty-unit building in the 4900 block of McPherson (the taller of the two buildings shown in the photo above), perished in a fire that started in his 2nd floor apartment shortly after 8 a.m. this morning. Six other residents were transported to the hospital. Twenty apartment-dwellers were rescued, some by ladder, from the back of the building.
The fire department was out in full-force during the 2-alarm blaze; water hoses were hooked to fire hydrants around the intersection of Euclid and McPherson, which was closed to traffic. There were Red Cross vehicles in the area this afternoon to assist residents of the building.
The Cambridge Apartments was originally a 24-unit building that was later divided into smaller units, a valuable housing resource for neighborhood restaurant workers and others who would otherwise be priced out of living in the CWE.
To add a bit of trivia to this heartbreaking story: In the 60s the building was known as Heartbreak Hotel.
Neighbors, including several who are residents of the building, stood under umbrellas (in the distance), as they watched the commotion from the sidewalk.
See the full report on KSDK's website here.