Woman Hurt In Blaze, More Than A Dozen Displaced
CALUMET CITY, Ill. (STMW) - A woman who was leaning out of the third story window of her smoke-filled apartment was rescued by firefighters early Sunday in south suburban Calumet City.
"The guys threw a ladder up right away and went and got her,'' said Calumet City Fire Dept. Deputy Chief Rich Banske. The woman, in her 20s or 30s, was taken to St. Margaret Hospital in Hammond Ind. in an unidentified condition after inhaling a lot of smoke, Banske said.
About 2:30 a.m., police officers arriving on the scene first saw her leaning out of the third-story window of the building at 101 Paxton Ave. and told firefighters there was at least one person in distress.
No one else was inside her apartment but about 15 or 16 residents from the five other units in the building got out themselves and were not injured.
The fire had started the kitchen of her residence and crews were able to contain it to that apartment by about 5 a.m., according to the deputy chief.
Neighbors called 911 when smoke started filling the hallways and activated a fire alarm hard-wired into the buidling's common areas, he said.
"Due to the smoke and water damage they had to cut power to the whole building,'' Banske said. All residents are displaced.
Foul play is not suspected but the fire remains under investigation.
© Sun-Times Media Wire Chicago Sun-Times 2011. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
