Three Injured After Fire Guts Two Homes In Oak Park
Updated 05/08/15 - 11:18 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Three people were injured overnight, when a fire gutted two homes in west suburban Oak Park. Neighbors and fire crews rushed to rescue people trapped inside one of the homes.
The fire started around 11:30 p.m. at a home in the 600 block of North Humphrey Avenue.
A 6-year-old boy and a 53-year-old man were trapped and unconscious in a second floor apartment for some time until fire rescue crews in oxygen masks could reach them. They were both revived, and safely evacuated, but were in critical condition at the hospital Friday morning. A 12-year-old girl also was injured in the blaze.
The fire was strong enough to require a second alarm, bringing in nine firefighting companies. The fire spread from one wood frame home to another, consuming both quickly.
Neighbors couldn't help but notice the blaze, and then heard the screams of those running out of the structures.
As fire crews were called in, neighbors heard a woman trying to escape, along with cries that two people were trapped inside a second floor apartment.
"She was in shock. We didn't even know how many people was in the house," neighbor John Jansky said. "I had to scream at her, and tell her 'How many people in the house? We trying to get them out before the fire get big.'"
Firefighters attempted to battle the thick smoke and flames until crews could make it to the man and boy who were trapped inside.
"It was very important that we got into this house, and got the people out, so the guys just broke the window down and we said we're going to break this window, and then a woman was taken out," neighbor Julius White said.
Both buildings were a total loss; both roofs caved in, and the interiors were gutted by flames.
Oak Park officials have identified the boy as 6-year-old Alex Albright, and the man as 53-year-old Joe Petraitis. Both were in critical condition at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood Friday morning. Alex's 12-year-old sister, Amy, also was overcome by smoke at the scene, but her injuries were not as serious.
It was not immediately clear how or if Petraitis and the Albright children are related.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
