Two firefighters had to be rescued after they fell through the first floor of a burning house in Evanston on Jan. 22, authorities said.
Firefighters responding to the 1100 block of Florence Avenue in the north suburb on a report of a house fire shortly before 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 22 reached the scene within minutes, “encountering billowing black smoke and heavy fire conditions at the rear of the structure,” the Evanston Fire Department said in a news release.
“Due to the heavy fire load, the fire quickly advanced to additional floors, requiring four fire lines and the assistance of seven fire departments to manage the advancing fire conditions,” the release said. “Exposure lines limited the fire spread to an adjacent structure while crews contained fire within the original building.”
Two occupants in the building safely evacuated with one cat and a dog before the arrival of fire crews but due to the rapid fire spread, one cat could not be evacuated and perished in the fire, said fire officials. The news release also said extensive structural damage led to a partial collapse of the first floor, trapping two firefighters with one sending out a “mayday.”
One of the firefighters was a veteran captain and the other was a female firefighter with a few years on the department, said Evanston Fire Department Operations Chief William Muno.
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“They were both successfully removed,” Muno said. “Both sustained minor injuries and were transported to hospital where they are still being evaluated and treated for their injuries.”
He said the cause of the “second alarm” fire is under investigation and at least 50 firefighters from various communities responded. An hour after the fire was extinguished firefighters were still on scene searching for “hotspots” in the structure, said Muno.
“It took around 10 to 15 minutes to get it under control but there were still hotspots they couldn’t reach because the floor has been compromised and burned through,” he said. “It became very unsafe so we brought everybody out so we could knock the fire down successfully from the outside and then they could reenter … and finish up the job.”
Extensive smoke and fire damage resulted in the displacement of all residents within the two story house.
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press,