1 dead, 1 injured in blaze at Austin home
BY BRIAN SLODYSKO Staff Reporter February 21, 2013 2:58AM
photo/Brian Slodysko
Maps
Updated: February 21, 2013 6:19AM
An 18-year-old woman was killed and a man was injured after a fire broke out in an Austin neighborhood home early Thursday.
Firefighters say the two were in the upstairs rooms of the home, located at the intersection of North Waller Avenue and West Iowa Street, when the blaze erupted, likely in the attic, about 12:40 a.m.
The 18-year-old woman killed--Tamisha Davis--lived in the building where the fire broke out, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
By the time firefighters started battling the fire, flames had drastically spread, causing extensive damage to the attic and the second floor.
Deputy District Chief Don Hroma said firefighters encountered an intese blaze on the second floor of the home and had to douse flames from the outside.
“We encountered heavy fire,” Hroma said of the blaze, which was extinguished by 1:38 a.m. “We had to back up a little bit and hit it from the exterior.”
The injured man was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where he was listed in serious but “stable” condition, Hroma said.
Fire officials said they are investigating the cause of the blaze.
