6 Hospitalized, 100 Displaced In West Chicago Apartment Fire: FD

WEST CHICAGO, IL — Six people, including a firefighter and a pregnant woman, were taken to local hospitals early Thursday morning after a fire broke out at a West Chicago apartment complex, displacing nearly 100 residents, officials said.

Crews from several fire departments were called to the Main Park Apartments in the 800 block of Burr Oak Circle just after 1 a.m., where fire officials said that two balconies and one of the apartment buildings in the 28-unit complex were engulfed in flames.

All of the residents were evacuated safely, but five residents and a firefighter were taken to hospitals with injuries, West Chicago Fire Chief Patrick Tanner told reporters. Tanner said that firefighters arrived to find some residents hanging out on balconies while others — including the pregnant woman — jumped from their second- and third-floor balconies to escape the fire.

The firefighter who was taken to a local hospital suffered heat exhaustion while battling the fire, Tanner told reporters.

Tanner told reporters that the fire broke out in one of the apartments and is believed to be accidental, but that investigators are still working to determine the cause of the blaze.

West Chicago Fire officials said that they would release more information as it becomes available.