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player ready...A fire in North Chicago left a home severely damaged Thursday morning and forced rescuers to extricate a victim through a bedroom window and into an ambulance.
Firefighters responded just before 9 a.m. to the fire, which was burning at a single-story, ranch-style home on the 1400 block of 20th Street, according to North Chicago Fire Department Chief Dell Urban. Crews noticed heavy, dark smoke coming from the home as they arrived, Urban said.
A resident’s initial report suggested that a victim, a non-ambulatory male, remained in the house, at the back of the residence, Urban said. She added that when rescuers entered, there was “zero visibility, heavy smoke and heat conditions.”
Firefighters found the victim “clinging to a window that was partially open” in a bedroom, according to Urban, who added that the only option was to extricate him through the window, as conditions were rapidly deteriorating. Urban said the victim was lifted through the window, handed off to an ambulance crew and transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Fire officials eventually extinguished the blaze, but Urban said the smoke left severe damage throughout the entire home. Responders from five other local agencies assisted the North Chicago rescuers.
Urban said the cause of the fire was a space heater in the basement of the home. The rescue was completed within five or 10 minutes, she said, “and the fire was under control within 40 minutes.’
“There was significant loss in the lower level” of the home, Urban said.
She added that all personnel who responded to the incident “performed at an exemplary level.”
Twitter @lucashammill