Commuters wait in below zero temperatures for a CTA Red line train at the Belmont station, Friday, Jan. 25, 2019.

(Steven Rosenberg/Chicago Tribune via AP)

At a Glance

The offer came after police confiscated propane tanks the homeless were using to keep warm.Police decided to confiscate the tanks after one of them exploded. The identity of the good Samaritan is unknown.

An unidentified good Samaritan picked up the hotel tab for 70 homeless people in Chicago who were camped out in tents in the bitter cold .

The offer came after the Chicago Fire Department on Wednesday confiscated nearly 100 propane tanks given to the group to keep them warm as temperatures sank to -22 degrees Fahrenheit. The department acted after one of the donated tanks exploded.

Salvation Army spokeswoman Jacqueline Rachev said city officials told the organization about their actions at the camp. The Salvation Army was about to move the people to a warming center when the city called again and informed them of the gesture.

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Rachev was not sure of the identity of the good Samaritan and only knew the hotel was on the city's South Side.