Dec 2, 2007 9:34 pm US/Central
1 Child, 2 Adults Sent To Hospital After Fire
CHICAGO (Post-Tribune) ―
A fire in a West Side apartment building sent one child and two adults to an area hospital Sunday night after crews rescued several people from the smoke-filled building.
About 7:45 p.m., an EMS Plan 1 response was called for a fire at 4734 W. Jackson Blvd., according to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford.
As crews approached the four-story building, neighbors were yelling to firefighters that people were trapped inside the third floor of the apartment, Langford said. Firefighters used ladders to rescue at least six people from the blaze, but only three were taken to Loretto Hospital for treatment.
A 9-year-old girl, a 41-year-old woman and a 61-year-old woman were taken to Loretto in "stable" condition, Langford said.
The fire started in the rear of the "very long" building and worked its way to the front, Langford said. Most of the blaze was contained to the third floor, but the dense smoke spread throughout the residence.
"Once again, we had no working smoke detectors," Langford said, adding that crews got to the blaze just in time to pull people from the building alive.
"There was not a lot of fire, but a lot of smoke," Langford said. "It's the smoke that kills."
The fire was put out in about 15 minutes.
There was a considerable amount of water and smoke damage to the building, Langford said, and 8 to 12 people may have to find alternate shelter.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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