Journal & Topics Media Group

Des Plaines Police Save Resident From Structure Fire


Two Des Plaines police officers were treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries Sunday after rescuing a resident from a single-family home structure fire at 389 S. Westgate Rd.

Officers were dispatched to the scene at approximately 8:40 a.m. Upon arrival, officers found two female seniors on the front porch, while smoke was billowing from the house, according to police. They reported the rear of the house completely engulfed in flames.

Police learned a disabled, male resident was still in the house. They entered and were able to remove the resident. All occupants of the house were able to escape the fire.

According to Des Plaines Fire Chief Alan Wax, two of the home’s residents were transported to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge where one was treated for a critical injury and another for a moderate injury. Another of the residents was transported to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights along with one Des Plaines police officer for moderate and minor injuries.

The other police officer was treated later in the day and not transported via ambulance.

Des Plaines Fire Dept. crews and firefighters from outside assisting agencies extinguished the fire by 9:09 a.m., though investigation crews remained at the scene until 1 p.m., Wax said. Crews from Arlington heights, Glenview, Prospect Heights, Rosemont, Wheeling, Wilmette, Elk Grove Township, Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect and Niles each assisted either at the scene or by taking emergency calls for Des Plaines.

Preliminary damage estimates indicate a fire loss of approximately $225,000, Wax told the Journal & Topics.

A cause for the blaze is still under investigation.

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