A 65-year-old woman was in critical condition and a firefighter was hospitalized following a two-alarm house fire a mile from campus Monday afternoon. The woman was unconscious, and the firefighter had injuries to his left shoulder and wrist, firefighters at the scene said.
Mary Gibson was carried out of the house at 3:20 p.m. by Evanston police officers Brian Brandenburg and Ronald Bloomberg as firefighters were arriving at 2115 Wesley Ave., according to a city press release. She was rescued from the house just before the fire increased in intensity, the release said.
Gibson was on a ventilator when she was taken to Evanston Hospital, 2650 Ridge Ave., said 26-year Evanston firefighter Ron Shulga. Shulga said the woman “had soot and stuff around her mouth” as she was put in the ambulance.
Two children and two dogs were also in the house at the time of the fire but were able to get out quickly, said neighbor Max Mest, 37.
The injured firefighter, Capt. Robert Wagner, was taken to Evanston Hospital after falling down the second floor stairs, Shulga said.
Shulga, the captain of Wagner’s truck, arrived at the scene with him.
“We were doing a secondary search and ventilation,” Shulga said. “There was poor visibility, he didn’t see the stairs and went head-first down them.”
Authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze, he said. According to Shulga, the fire started in a first-floor bedroom.
Responding firefighters were able to put out the fire in 45 minutes, the release said. Next-door neighbor Michael Polski, 40, said he was “really impressed” at the cooperation of at least seven fire trucks from many different muncipalities.
Polski, who called the fire department, said he originally went into the house himself.
“I ran into the house and saw a curtain of black smoke,” he said.
Mest, another resident who saw the fire, said the entire neighborhood was filled with smoke.
“I couldn’t even see (the street) from my front door,” he said. “I was concerned for my neighbor, and I was scared because it was right when my kids were coming home from school.”
Gibson’s grandson, Jacob, who turned five Sunday, was already home when the fire started.
“He lives in the house,” said Polski, pointing to a boy playing with bubbles on the front stairs of the house. “Well, he lived in the house. It’s no longer livable.”
Less than two hours after the fire had been put out, the house was boarded up to prevent people from breaking in, firefighters said.
The house had insurance, but will probably remain in its current state for at least three to six months, Polski said.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the cause of the fire could take up to a week as fire investigators work with the insurance companies, Evanston Fire Department Capt. Jim Edwards said.
But the most important thing is Gibson’s health, neighbor Laverne Woolridge said.
“You can get another place to live, but you can’t get another life,” she said. “I’m hoping and praying she’s all right.”
