CHICAGO — Two men were injured, one critically, after an automobile's gas tank caught on fire in Morgan Park Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
The fire ignited about 2:15 p.m. in the 10000 block of South Drew Street while the automobile was being worked on, fire officials said.
A 46-year-old man had third-degree burns to 60 percent of his body, including his upper chest and face. The man also had a "compromised airway" and was in critical condition, officials said.
Neighbors said the man was well-known in the neighborhood and had fixed half the cars on the block during the last 20 years.
"It would be a loss to everyone [if he died], he helps in a thousand different ways" said the man's friend, Ron Goodwin.
Goodwin, 51, wasn't home when the fire ignited but was told by another neighbor via text message.
"[He] is the man," Goodwin said of his friend, who was known to fix vehicles on the block for less than half the actual cost.
"We'd trade off; he'd fix my car and I'd fix his roof. If you didn't have money you'd just work something out with him."
A 56-year-old man had third-degree burns over 40 percent of his body, including his chest, face and arms. He was in stable condition, officials said.
One man was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center and another to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, officials said.
