Woman rescued from Arlington Heights fire by neighbor using sledgehammer
Arlington Heights fire officials said two people are safe, and one was rescued by a neighbor, after a garage fire Wednesday morning.
The Arlington Heights Fire Department said they were called to the 1100 block of North Dryden Avenue around 10 a.m. for a house fire with people trapped.
When they arrived they found the home's single car garage was fully engulfed in flames, officials said. One person had already escaped the home on their own, but another, a woman, had been trapped inside.
A neighbor used a sledgehammer to force open the home's locked from door and rescued the woman, fire officials said. She was carried safely out of the home.
Firefighters were able to put out the fire and searched the home, confirming everyone who lived there was accounted for. No major injuries were reported, though fire officials said one of the residents was taken to a local hospital for further care. They did not offer details about what medical assistance that resident needed.
The names and ages of the home's occupants have not been released.
One structure that neighbored the garage suffered minor damage, but firefighters were able to keep the garage fire from spreading to the home itself.
The fire department commended the neighbor's "quick and selfless actions" in rescuing the woman. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.