Firefighters Rescue Elderly Man From Burning Building
CHICAGO (STMW) - Firefighters rescued an elderly man trapped on the third floor of a burning building Wednesday afternoon on the Northwest Side.
The fire started about 5:45 p.m. on the second floor of a three-story courtyard building at 5041 W. Fullerton Ave., Fire Media Affairs Chief Kevin MacGregor said. The building had stores on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors.
Firefighters mostly contained the blaze to the second floor unit where it apparently started, but smoke and extreme heat spread up and down the stairwell, trapping an elderly man on the third floor, MacGregor said.
Firefighters raised an aerial ladder to the third floor and rescued the man from the east side of the building, the chief said. The man, about 80 years old, was taken in fair condition to Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center with smoke inhalation.
Nobody else was injured.
Firefighters were packing up equipment to return to the station about 6:30 p.m., and investigators remained on the scene to find the cause and origin.
© Sun-Times Media Wire Chicago Sun-Times 2011. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
