An 8-year-old boy who fell unconscious after hiding behind a mattress to escape a fire in a West Side home early Friday was found by fire personnel in a rescue that one department official called "great."
The blaze, which firefighters were notified of at 12:30 a.m., burned through the upper level of a one and-a-half story home at 1145 N. Central Ave., according to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford.
Other family members were able to get out, frantic that they were leaving the boy behind, so firefighter John O'Brien, of Tower Ladder 14, went into the upper level with a thermal imaging camera. The camera could not detect anything inside, so the firefighter "used his search skills," Langford said, and found the 8-year-old boy hiding from the fire behind a mattress.
The boy was taken from the building unconscious, and the firefighter, followed by paramedics from Ambulance 23, performed CPR on him. The child was taken to West Medical Center in Oak Park in serious to critical condition, but personnel on the scene "seemed to be very optimistic" regarding the boy's chances of recovery, said Langford. The boy was suffering from smoke inhalation, according to a report from the police First Deputy Superintendent's office.
"The rescue was a great one by O'Brien," Langford said.
"Kids are so helpless. Especcially when a kid's trapped, you want to do whatever you can do get him out of there," O'Brien told NBC 5. "That's somebody's son, and I hope someone would do the same for me."
"I'm glad (the boy) is alive and the family are all alive because they're beautiful people," said the family's neighbor, Ivan Beltran.
Also taken to West Suburban from the fire was an elderly woman, who had gone back into the home to look for the boy. The woman is 73 years old, according to the deputy's report. She did not suffer any injuries related to the fire, but because she has a heart condition, she was taken to the hospital to have her well-being monitored.
According to the deputy's report, she was in good condition.
The fire was extinguished within a half-hour, said Langford, who added the home had two working smoke detectors. According to the police First Deputy's report, the occupants of the home were alerted by the smoke alarms.
No neighboring buildings were damaged by the fire, Langford said. The cause of the fire was not yet determined. The Office of Fire Investigations and the police Bomb and Arson Unit were investigating.
The stucco veneer home suffered significant damage and "it's going to take some serious repair before anyone can go back," Langford added. Additional information provided by Chicago Sun-Times
