3 firefighters hurt battling Evanston blaze
BY ROSEMARY SOBOL Staff Reporter/rsobol@suntimes.com
An Evanston firefighter remained hospitalized Saturday night after crews battled a Christmas morning fire that ravaged two homes and three garages in the northern suburb.
Two other firefighters were also injured in the blaze on the 1800 block of Laurel that broke out at 5:07 a.m.
Evanston Fire Battalion Chief Don Kunita said emergency crews arrived at the scene three minutes later and found a fire that was “getting big rapidly.’’
Toward the end of the battle against the fire, a “Mayday” was called when one firefighter had trouble breathing.
“He obviously needed help. We got him out of there,’’ Kunita said. The firefighter, a 25-year veteran of the department, was taken to Evanston Hospital, where he was in good condition Saturday night.
The home and garage at 1809 bore the brunt of the damage, but the garage and home at 1807 also were damaged. While the garage of 1811 was ravaged, the home at that address was “untouched,’’ Kunita said.
No one else was injured, however: one of the homes was unoccupied, and the family who lived in the other home was out of town.
The cause and origin of the fire was under investigation.
City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz praised the quick response of city crews in light of the holiday.
“While many of us are spending Christmas morning with friends and family, our firefighters and police officers are on duty to take care of business,’’ he said in a statement posted on the Evanston city website.
Contributing: Kim Janssen, Michael Lansu
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