Man dies after apparently jumping from 7th floor apartment in Lincoln Park after a fire was purposely set, police saySun-Times Wireon October 5, 2021 at 11:17 am

Five people, including four police officers, were injured following a fire Oct. 4, 2021, in Lincoln Park. | Sun-Times file photo

Police said they were investigating the fire at 400 block of West Wrightwood Avenue as an arson but gave no details.

A man died after apparently jumping from a 7th-floor apartment in Lincoln Park after a fire had been purposely set, according to Chicago police.

The fire was reported in an apartment around 5 p.m. in the 400 block of West Wrightwood Avenue, police said.

Responding crews found Demarlo M. Branch, 31, on the ground and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Branch lived in the apartment on the 7th floor where the fire was set, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman said.

Four officers suffered minor smoke inhalation and were transported to a hospital for evaluation, officials said.

The fire was contained to one apartment. Police said it was being investigated as an arson.

No other details were released.

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