Man injured in fire on 52nd floor of former Hancock building

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A man was seriously injured early Sunday in a fire that broke out on the 52nd floor of the building formerly called the John Hancock Center along Chicago's Magnificent Mile.

At about 3 a.m., the fire broke out the kitchen area of a studio apartment in the 100-block of East Delaware Place.

Firefighters had to force their way into the condo to rescue the man and put out the fire.

The man was transported to Northwestern Hospital in serious condition.

No one else was hurt and the fire was contained to the one condo, fire officials said.

Since the building is a high-rise, protocol required firefighters to check all floors and all stairwells.

"You are fighting a fire up in the air, it's very serious, it's very difficult for us to do, equipment, manpower, tools, all of that up there we are fighting the smoke conditions we're walking up a lot of stairs with all of our equipment," an official said.

According to representatives of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, there are no fire sprinklers in the building's residential units between the 44th and 92nd floors.