Schaumburg firefighter, police officer among 6 hospitalized after blaze at senior housing complex

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (WLS) -- A firefighter and a police officer are among six people hospitalized after a large blaze broke out at a north suburban senior housing complex, officials said.

All of the hospitalizations were for smoke inhalation and were precautionary, officials said.

Chopper 7HD was over the scene in the 100 block of West Wise Road, where Schaumburg firefighters were battling the blaze.

Firefighters were seen using a ladder to help people down from an upper floor of the 97-unit Emerald Village building. With it being a senior living building, some residents have mobility issues.

Officials said two apartments on the fourth floor of the building caught fire around mid-afternoon. They believe one unit caught fire first, and then the blaze spread to the other. The cause is still under investigation.

One resident described the effort to evacuate seniors.

"The police came, and said we had to evacuate, so I use a walker, and they were helping me to the fireplace, and then they said somebody down the hall needed help, so they all ran to that. Another policeman in the stairway helped me down, and they got me out right away," said Audrey Gallagher.

Other residents were told to shelter in place if it was safe to do so.

"Which residents were able to come down the stairwells, which stairwells weren't deemed safe at the time, so they were better to just shelter-in-place at the time," said Dep. Chief Shawn Green, Schaumburg Police Department.

Elenor Mazza was in the lobby, but her 88-year-old husband Chester, who has Parkinson's disease, was up on the third floor.

"They took him down the steps in a wheelchair," she said. "Two policemen carried him down the stairs in a wheelchair. So, pretty nice."

Evacuated seniors were gathered outside the building on a warm day. They were given water to cool down.

Westbound Wise Road was temporarily closed at Roselle Road, and the fire has been extinguished.

A reunification center has been set up at Frost Junior High School, officials said.