Mother dead, daughter injured in Palatine fire

PALATINE, Ill. (WLS) -- A house fire killed a woman and seriously injured her disabled daughter in north suburban Palatine, all despite the best efforts of some caring neighbors.

Firefighters raced to save the family around 8:18 p.m. Friday after responding to calls about smoke pouring out of the second floor of the home, located in the 100-block of South Oak Street.

The blaze was struck out just after 8:30 p.m. Crews pulled a 63-year-old mother and her 20-year-old daughter from the house, who were both hospitalized. The mother wasn't conscious and later died.

Knowing two women were trapped inside, neighbors rushed to help.

In the end, police said 63-year-old Lois Demos was killed, and her daughter, Lindsey, who uses a wheelchair, was badly burned.

The two women were like family to their neighbors.

"I remember when my twins were born she was pregnant with Lindsay, she couldn't wait to see the twins. So many good memories we have to keep," said Linda Kuzmiak.

This is a tight knit community, when something like this happens, everyone is involved.

"There are no words to explain it,' said neighbor Nick Kuzmiak. "We are very close-knit, everyone knows everyone here, everyone has lived here for 30 years."

Fire officials said the women were found on the second floor, were it appears the fire started.

"We knew we had an immediate fire from the call from the neighbors, we knew we had rescues, so our crews went right to work and forced entry on the front door, crews went up the stairs, split, both of them found victims right away," said Deputy Chief Patrick Gratzianna.

Demos was a widow and leaves behind her daughter and a son, as well as two dogs neighbors have now jumped in to care for.

Fire officials concluded their investigation Saturday afternoon, calling the incident an accidental electrical fire that started in one of the bedrooms.