Rolling Meadows fire leaves 90-year-old woman critically injured

A 90-year-old woman was critically injured and a family dog died after a fire early Friday in a Rolling Meadows house.

Emergency crews were dispatched to the house on the 3700 block of Meadow Drive at 4:44 a.m. after a 911 operator got a call from a woman coughing, before the phone disconnected, authorities said.

While the dispatcher wasn't able to contact her on a return call, a neighbor had called 911 to confirm the house was on fire, according to a Rolling Meadows Fire Department news release.

The woman and her 45-year-old son were in the front yard when firefighters arrived. With obvious burns to her body, she was taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, but has since been transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, according to Fire Chief Terry Valentino.

Her son was treated and released.

Valentino said firefighters were able to quickly attack the fire in the split-level house. While the fire department and Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office are working to determine the cause and origin of the fire, first responders to the scene saw fire coming from the front window.

After extinguishment, search crews discovered the dog inside the house.

The structure is uninhabitable and has been boarded up.