CHICAGO - Six children and two adults were killed in an apartment fire in Southwest Chicago early Sunday morning. The scene remains active as of early Sunday afternoon.

In a press conference, Chicago Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago said "We have not had this in many, many, many years, this amount of fatalities and injuries in one location,"

Two more children were transported to a local hospital in critical condition, Chicago Police told Xinhua.

Officials say that one contributing factor was that the apartment where the fire started did not have smoke detectors.

Santiago said that a woman noticed the fire and called 911, then began knocking on neighbors' doors to alert them to the fire. "That saved a lot of lives." Santiago said.

One firefighter was injured at the scene and transported to the hospital. Santiago says he is in good condition.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.