Several people, including a firefighter, were injured during a fire that broke out on the fifth floor of a six-story condominium building in the 9700 block of North Dee Road Friday morning, according to Niles Fire Chief Steve Borkowski.
Borkowski said fire crews arrived on the scene shortly after 8:30 a.m. after receiving calls about a fire in the 78-unit building. Crews including 60 firefighters from 10 different fire departments knocked out the blaze, which began in the kitchen of a unit on the fifth floor, by 9:15 a.m., he said. Two occupants in the unit were transported to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, along with two other individuals who were rescued from balconies on the upper floors of the building, Borkowski said. None of the injuries were life-threatening in nature. He said he was unaware of the condition of the residents.
Borkowski said a firefighter was also transported to Advocate Lutheran General for smoke inhalation and was subsequently treated and released. He said a cat was rescued from a unit on the fifth floor and delivered to an area animal hospital.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but will likely be ruled an accident, Borkowski said.
Due to extensive smoke damage throughout the fifth and sixth floors of the building, only residents on the fourth floor and below were allowed to return to their units, Borkowski said.
He said representatives from the Red Cross and the Niles Family Services Department are working to find temporary housing for displaced residents.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.