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1 Killed, 1 Injured In West Chicago Fire

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 53-year-old man was killed and a 92-year-old man was critically injured in a fire that destroyed a home Wednesday night in far west suburban West Chicago.

West Chicago Fire Protection District Chief Patrick Tanner said three people were inside the 2 ½-story home in the 100 block of West Grand Lake Boulevard when the fire started around 9:30 a.m.

When firefighters arrived, the front porch of the home was fully engulfed, and flames had spread to the inside of the home.

"When I got outside, you couldn't even recognize the first three quarters of the house. All three stories were fully engulfed in flame, all the way to the back of the house. Flames were coming out of the back of the house," neighbor Bradley Falls said.

Two people were still inside, but one person escaped on their own.

A 53-year-old man who was found on the second floor was pronounced dead. A 92-year-old man rescued from a second-floor window was taken to Central DuPage Hospital, and later airlifted to the burn unit at Loyola University Medical Center, where he was in critical condition.

The woman who escaped the home was not injured.

Tanner said the house was a total loss, and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

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