All 4 Boys Injured In A West Humboldt Park Fire Have Died, Officials Say: 'These Are Our Babies From The Neighborhood'

WEST HUMBOLDT PARK — Axel, Aiden and Jayden Cruz spent Saturday doing what they often did — playing at the community garden down the street from their home.

“Those three boys were like peas in a pod,” said Maura Madden, who runs the garden. “They were always here. Some kids spend time in front of the TV. These guys were obsessed with spiders. And because it had rained that morning, there were spiders.”

Madden said the brothers, ages 4, 5 and 6, played with her for nearly six hours before she finally shepherded them home to their basement apartment at in the 4000 block of West Potomac Avenue around 9:30 p.m. Saturday. She did not see them again.

Axel, Aiden, Jayden and 11-year Angel Rodriguez all have died following the fire that broke out in their apartment Saturday night, a spokesperson from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed Wednesday night.

Axel, Aiden and Jayden Cruz, and Angel Rodriguez. All four boys died the week of June 26, 2022 when a fire broke out in their West Humboldt Park apartment.

Axel was pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center on Wednesday, officials said.

Authorities had previously said Axel died Sunday morning but medical examiner officials later said it was 5-year-old Aiden who’d died from his injuries. Jayden and Angel died Monday, officials said.

Officials said the one entrance and exit to the unit was blocked by flames and smoke, trapping the boys inside.

Madden said the children are survived by an 18-year-old sister. Two adults were hospitalized in good condition.

“They came out. They made some mud pies. They dug for spiders,” Madden said, remembering some of the boys’ last hours. “We have to remember the children. These are our babies from the neighborhood.”

Neighborhood leaders said the boys’ aunt has set up a GoFundMe to help the family with funeral expenses and recover. It had raised more than $25,000 as of Wednesday evening.

Pastor Venus Jackson prays as mourners gather for a vigil at Children’s Garden of Hope, at Karlov and Potomac avenues, in Humboldt Park on June 29, 2022, in memory of children who died nearby in an apartment fire four days prior.

A memorial is set up as mourners gather for a vigil at Children’s Garden of Hope, at Karlov and Potomac avenues, in Humboldt Park on June 29, 2022, in memory of children who died nearby in an apartment fire four days prior.

Dozens of community members gathered Wednesday in the same park where the boys spent so much of their time, paying tribute to the family with songs, celebrations, candles and prayer. Firefighters and EMTs, Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), the entire board of the Nobel Neighbors community organization and dozens of teachers and faculty from the boys’ school, Nobel Elementary, as well as their day care, Start From The Start, all attended the vigil.

A plush Spiderman doll served as the centerpiece of a memorial that included flowers, balloons and candles at the normally quiet corner of Karlov and Potomac.

Teachers wrote notes to the boys in English and Spanish on crosses they situated in the garden. “Fuiste lo más mejor que paso en mi vida,” a teacher named Alicia wrote, which translates to, “You were the best thing that happened in my life.”

“Por siempre, en nuestro corazón,” or “forever in our hearts,” wrote another.

Balloons are passed out to children for a release as mourners gather for a vigil at Children’s Garden of Hope, at Karlov and Potomac avenues, in Humboldt Park on June 29, 2022, in memory of children who died nearby in an apartment fire four days prior.

Mourners gather for a vigil at Children’s Garden of Hope, at Karlov and Potomac avenues, in Humboldt Park on June 29, 2022, in memory of children who died nearby in an apartment fire four days prior.

The vigil began with a rousing Baptist prayer, as tearful religious leaders and community members grieved for the family.

Dorothy Walton gathered all the children at the vigil and blessed them; Griselda De Luna, a parent at Nobel, followed with a prayer in Spanish. She asked for mercy on the family, emphasizing the unthinkable tragedy of losing four children.

“The pain that the community is feeling right now, we are walking together,” said Venus Jackson, who runs Nobel Neighbors and helped organize the vigil. “We are holding each other’s hands, holding each other up, because this pain is unimaginable.”

Melissa Pena, who lives in the apartment above the family with her two children, said she was upstairs when the fire broke out. She said she rushed outside and saw other neighbors, like Larry Walker try to get inside to help the kids.

Walker still had a burn mark on his arm Wednesday from breaking through a window. He said he carried out one of the children.

“I can’t hardly sleep because of this,” Walker told Block Club. “That’s my first time carrying a dead baby in my hands. Hopefully it’ll be the last. But if I have to do it again, I will.”

Officials from the Chicago Fire Department stand in union as mourners gather for a vigil at Children’s Garden of Hope, at Karlov and Potomac avenues, in Humboldt Park on June 29, 2022, in memory of children who died nearby in an apartment fire four days prior.

Maura Madden consoles “Baby” while she cries as mourners gather for a vigil at Children’s Garden of Hope, at Karlov and Potomac avenues, in Humboldt Park on June 29, 2022, in memory of children who died nearby in an apartment fire four days prior.

Although she didn’t know the family, Mitts said she had not been able to sleep in recent nights, a feeling echoed by other neighbors at the vigil. She called on people to get involved in their community.

“We see gun violence, but a fire … it makes your heart ache,” Mitts said. “We’re here to show support for the family, for the neighbors, and as a community to come together. I’m saddened, but had it not been for these kids, we wouldn’t be here right now. And I’m saying we need to come out of the houses, and get involved when we see children playing.”

Mitts also called on the city building department to do more with regard to fire safety. Officials previously told Block Club that the basement apartment did not have a working smoke detector, although there was one upstairs. Because the apartment only had one door, the boys were stuck in the apartment inhaling deadly smoke until firefighters got to them, Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said.

In an email, city building department officials told Block Club that the Chicago Building Code “allows for one egress door for dwelling units based on floor area and the distance from the most remote point to the door.”

According to the code, a dwelling unit can have one exit door if it is less than 1,250 square feet in area and the farthest point inside the home is no more than 60 feet from either the outdoors or a two-way corridor.

The apartment’s square footage is not known. Assessor’s records show the three-floor building has a total of 3,057 square feet. Police said in an email to Block Club that an investigation into the fire remained ongoing.

The vigil ended on Wednesday with the community gathering to sing “This Little Light of Mine.” All children received free ice cream.

“They were just beautiful children,” Madden said. “I’m all cried out.”

Block Club’s Colin Boyle contributed.

Maura Madden embraces a neighborhood family as mourners gather for a vigil at Children’s Garden of Hope, at Karlov and Potomac avenues, in Humboldt Park on June 29, 2022, in memory of children who died nearby in an apartment fire four days prior.

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All 4 Boys Injured In A West Humboldt Park Fire Have Died, Officials Say: ‘These Are Our Babies From The Neighborhood’

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