Children among 8 injured in Des Plaines condo building fire, officials say

DES PLAINES, Ill. (WLS) -- Eight people were hospitalized after a large condo building fire in Des Plaines Wednesday, fire officials said.

Neighbors said they heard a loud explosion, only to come outside to people screaming that the building was on fire.

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"They were trying to figure out how to get up to him, get to him and everything, and you can see the flames kind of coming out of his unit," neighbor Michael Motschman said.

A massive fire ripped through the three-story condo building around 1 a.m. in the 1200-block of Harding Avenue in Des Plaines, sending people racing for their lives.

"We heard people yelling, 'help me, help me;' so we went to the balcony and called 911 to tell them there was a fire. And the building was like caught on fire right after," said Yulianna Humniak, who lives in the building.

Fire investigators said eight people went to hospitals and dozens more are displaced. Of those transported, four were adults and four were children, Des Plaines officials said.

Three of the adults were in critical condition, while one adult remained stable, officials said. The four children also remained stable.

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Firefighters used ladders to move floor-to-floor over fears the building could become unstable.

"We're able to make rescues with ground ladders from balconies," Des Plaines Fire Chief Matt Matzel said. "Our crews did a great job of getting those people out into the hospitals"

But before crews even arrived, neighbors were already risking their own lives to save others, including one woman who didn't want to go on camera, but she said she had no choice but to jump from her window.

"I jumped into a garbage can; they wheeled a garbage can underneath me under the balcony. And I jumped into the garbage can," she said.

As the smoke cleared, many said they were just counting their blessings.

"At least you're alive and you're safe," Motschman said.

Several NICOR crews were onsite assessing the damage. The cause of the fire has not been determined.