80-year-old woman hospitalized after Aurora house blaze

An 80-year-old Aurora woman was being treated for smoke inhalation at a suburban hospital Thursday after a two-alarm fire at her house on the 500 block of College Avenue.

One other person also was injured in the blaze, Aurora spokesman Dan Ferrelli said. Police and firefighters responded to the two-story house about 8:45 a.m.

“We had heavy fire coming out (one side), and heavy smoke was banking right across the street,” Assistant Fire Chief Mark Lockwood said. “Due to the weather, the smoke wasn’t rising like it normally does.”

Rescue teams found the woman still inside the burning building. Firefighters were able to lift her out a bedroom window and hand her to police officers.

During the rescue efforts, a 21-year-old man who also lives at the house jumped off the roof, where he had been standing.

Both the man and woman were taken by paramedics to Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, where the man was being treated for a leg injury. The woman was airlifted from Provena to another hospital.

A third resident, a 61-year-old man, escaped through the back door and was unharmed. He told firefighters and police officers he awoke to the smell of smoke.

Damage is estimated at more than $100,000, Ferrelli said.

Authorities said the cause of the fire is unknown but does not appear suspicious.