Kenwood high-rise fire: Two workers for restoration company charged

Two workers for a restoration company have been charged with stealing cash and jewelry from an apartment of a Kenwood high-rise that was damaged in a deadly fire last week.

Jose Gamboa, 26, and Anger Uzcategui Pacheco, 20, were each charged with burglary after a resident turned over video showing them stealing from an apartment, according to Chicago police.

Gamboa and Pacheco were temporary workers for A-Emergency Services & Restoration, which was hired to work in the building after a 4-11 alarm fire climbed the outside walls of nine floors of the building in the 4800 block of South Lake Park Avenue last Wednesday. A woman was killed and eight other residents were injured.

The owner of the company told police that his workers were told not to enter any of the apartments. But video from an apartment on the fifth floor showed both inside, according to a police report.

The fire started in a 15th floor apartment of the complex and quickly spread up nine floors. The cause was “careless use of smoking materials” in a bedroom,” fire officials said. The apartment’s smoke alarm was not working at the time, the Chicago Fire Department said in a statement.

The building has failed seven inspections since Oct. 27, 2021, according to city records.

On Nov. 7 last year, it was cited for having cracked masonry on exterior walls, not having fire tags on certain doors and for failing to have a required examination report of the building, according to records from the city Department of Buildings.

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