Local
Neighbors helped residents escape as Deerfield fire damaged 16 apartments
A second-floor fire in a Deerfield apartment building sent two people to hospitals and left one of the building’s four sections uninhabitable. Neighbors helped a resident escape as crews worked to secure the damaged building and restore utilities.
A fire that broke out Saturday evening at a Deerfield apartment building damaged 16 apartments, sent two people to hospitals and displaced residents in one section of the building, officials said.
The fire started around 7:30 p.m. in the 1100 block of Deerfield Road. Firefighters arrived to find a second-floor apartment engulfed in flames and brought the fire under control from outside before entering, the Deerfield Fire Department said.
Two people were taken to area hospitals with injuries that were not considered serious; their conditions were stabilized, according to the department. Paramedics treated two other people at the scene for minor injuries.
The fire may have started in an elderly woman’s apartment, officials said. Neighbors went door to door to help people get out, and residents across the hall assisted the woman as she escaped, Deputy Fire Chief Michael Montondo said.
The building is divided into four sections, and one was left uninhabitable, Montondo said. The fire blew out windows and left parts of the building charred. The affected apartments lost power, while crews boarded up windows and secured electrical lines.
ComEd and North Shore Gas were working on the other sections early Sunday, with the aim of reopening them to residents as soon as possible, the fire department said.