Suburban man leaps from second-floor window to escape fire

When Becky Placzek saw smoke coming out of a house shortly after 8 a.m. today just 60 feet from her eighth-grade classroom at Notre Dame School in Clarendon Hills, her first thought was concern for whether anyone was home.

So, she and fellow teacher Sylvia Lawson ran over to the house at 55 Golf Ave. and started banging on windows and doors, hoping to alert anyone still inside. Overcome by smoke after a while, Placzek stepped back for a moment about to give up. Then she saw a young man kick out a second-floor window from inside.

"He threw out his clothes, then the (fire chief) came," Placzek said.

The man noticed the two teachers and Fire Chief Brian Lahey standing outside and listened as Lahey directed him to a soft landing area away from the cement driveway.

The man, 19-year-old Jonathan Rogowski, jumped.

"(Lahey) said, 'You're going to have to jump,'" Rogowski said.

He did and landed safely, suffering only minor scratches on his right arm.

Rogowski said he first tried to go down the stairs, but quickly realized there was too much smoke.

Firefighters battled the blaze for well over an hour. Dozens of people -- neighbors, friends and former teachers -- arrived to offer hugs and condolences. The family cat was lost in the fire.

Rogowski had just returned home from college last week and is set to begin his summer job at Hinsdale Central on Friday.

Other family members, John Rogowski, wife Maria and 17-year-old son Mike, were all out of the house at the time of the fire.

The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.