Carlos Street mostly kept to himself at his home in North Lawndale where he lived with his mother, Dessie Street. Her passion for sewing and crafting clothes for others made her a well-known and familiar face around the neighborhood.

       On Wednesday morning, family and friends somberly shared stories of the mother and son as they gathered outside the pair’s home that was torched by an overnight fire. Dessie Street escaped the fire and was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, but Carlos was still missing and family believed he was in the rubble.

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       The group held their breath as the Fire Department carefully lifted up debris in the aftermath of the fire. Joseph Johnson, Carlos’ uncle and Dessie’s brother, cried out when the body of a man was found. He hugged the people around him.

       “Please pray for our family,” Johnson said.

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       Joseph Johnson, uncle of the fire victim, talks to reporters before the body of his nephew was found in the rubble following an early morning fire in which a woman and two CPD officers were also injured in the 1200 block of South Kedvale Avenue on Dec. 6, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

       The man had not been identified by the medical examiner’s office as of Wednesday evening but was identified by family as Carlos Street. Records show a man named Carl Street, 51, resides at the address of the fire. No one else was unaccounted for, said Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

       Chicago police officers responded to the home in the 1200 block of South Kedvale Avenue around 1:15 a.m., where 73-year-old Dessie Street was found lying in the grass on the front lawn. Neighbors at the scene alerted police that her son with special needs was missing.

       Two officers were injured in the search for her son when one officer fell through the porch and became trapped. The officer was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A second officer suffered a minor ankle injury running from the fire and was released from the hospital.

       Officials said the cause is under investigation but the severity of the fire and the instability of the structure could make finding the cause difficult. Half a side wall is all that remains of the house.

       Loved ones gathered outside the home Wednesday shared Dessie’s love of sewing and creating clothes, including prom dresses and holiday outfits for people in the neighborhood.

       Many years, there would be a line of people down the street and wrapping around the block from her house wanting to order custom holiday outfits, said Linda Ward, 55, of North Lawndale, who said she is related to the family through marriage.

       Ward was at her house Tuesday to pick up a pair of pants Dessie had altered for a friend of Ward’s. While Ward was there, she and Dessie had talked about the outfit Dessie was creating for Ward.

       “She had just told me ‘I’m going to start on your outfit,’” Ward said.

       Ward said Carlos was quiet and didn’t talk much, mainly staying upstairs. But when she saw him Tuesday at the house, he came downstairs to eat pizza with his mother.

       “He came down and said, ‘Let me get two slices of that pizza,’” she said.

       Dessie’s sister-in-law, Tomikaa Rainge said she visits Street’s house almost every morning to check in on Dessie and Carlos. On Wednesday morning, she said she was on her way to see them when she saw news of the fire on television.

       “We would just chat and hold a conversation,” Rainge said of her daily visits.

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       Rainge said Dessie is well-known in the community.

       “She makes a lot of clothes for a lot of the young people around the neighborhood,” Rainge said.

       Dessie Street, who turns 74 Thursday, has several children, but Carlos was the only child who lived with her, family said. The mother and son spent most of their time together and were “very close,” Rainge said.

       She said they were “a close-knit family.”

       “They never bothered anyone,” Rainge said.

       dawilliams@chicagotribune.com

       aguffey@chicagotribune.com

       Originally Published: Dec 06, 2023 at 7:41 am