CHICAGO — One person was critically burned in a fire in a West Rogers Park building Wednesday evening, officials said.
Flames erupted around 5:30 p.m. in a 3 1/2-story building in the 2100 block of West Lunt Avenue Wednesday, fire officials said.
The two-alarm fire left one man in critical condition with burns to his legs. The man, who was working for a flooring company, was rushed to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, officials said.
The injured worker was conscious, said neighbor Allesandro Crawford, 33.
"It was total chaos. The firefighters were going in," Crawford said.
A first-floor unit in the building was being renovated, and that might have been where the fire began, said fire officials and building owner Bob Szymanski.
Floors being finished were being worked on with a sander, Szymanski said.
Building resident Tom Murray, 80, saw the flames erupt.
"I heard the yelling and shouting, and I could see the flames through the kitchen window," he said.
Murray left the building when the heat became intense inside his own apartment. His kitchen was damaged, and his right eyebrow was singed from the blaze. Murray said he'll be staying with family in the city.
