Forest Park police and fire departments responded to a two-flat fire at 625 Harlem Ave. around 5:50 a.m. Tuesday. Traffic was shut down on Harlem Avenue for an hour right at the I-290 entrance ramps during morning rush hour.
A passing motorist on I-290 reported smoke coming out of an apartment building. Fire departments from River Forest, Oak Park, North Riverside, Maywood, Berwyn and Cicero responded. Dispatchers reported “heavy smoke” coming out of a second floor window. Two residents were removed from the building but four cats died in the fire. The fire was out by 6:25 a.m., said Village Administrator Tim Gillian. The village was working to try to get electricity restored to the building Tuesday morning.
