Two hospitalized after Glendale Heights house fire

Two people remained hospitalized Monday after being overcome by smoke when an early morning fire struck their home in Glendale Heights, authorities said.

Glenside Fire Protection District Chief Russell Wood said one of the two, a 48-year-old woman, was in critical condition at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. An 84-year-old man initially was listed in critical condition at Adventist GlenOaks Hospital in Glendale Heights but was upgraded later in the day.

Firefighters responded to the house on the 400 block of Fullerton Avenue about 12:15 a.m. Monday, Wood said, and found fire showing at the rear of the two-story structure along with heavy smoke.

Two other residents of the house, a 20-year-old woman and a 7-month-old baby, already had escaped, but the woman told firefighters about the two people who were trapped inside.

Firefighters found both people near a stairway where it appeared they were overcome by smoke while trying to escape, Wood said.

The young woman and baby both were treated at the scene but refused transport to the hospital.

Wood said the fire began in a lower level bedroom at the rear of the house and caused extensive damage that left the building uninhabitable. DuPage County Arson Task Force investigators are trying to determine what triggered the blaze, but said it appears the cause was accidental.

The home, located just a few blocks from the fire station, had operating smoke detectors.

Wood said firefighters remained on the scene until 5:30 a.m.

“It could have been much worse,” he said.

Ÿ Daily Herald Staff Writer Bob Smith contributed to this report.