Resident In Critical Condition, Pet Dies In Fire On Near East Side: FD

AURORA, IL — One resident was hospitalized in critical condition after a house fire Monday evening in the 700 block of Lafayette Street.

A cat was also killed in the blaze that erupted around just after 7 p.m. in a single-family house on the city's near east side, according to officials at the Aurora Fire Department.

A total of four engines, two trucks, three medics and three battalion chiefs were dispatched to the house at 7:07 p.m. when they found flames coming from a first-floor side window of the two-story, wood-framed structure. Crews located the fire in the kitchen and an adjacent dining room, officials said.

The 37-year-old man was found lying under debris on the first floor. After treating him, paramedics brought him to an area hospital where he remains in critical condition as of Tuesday morning, officials said. The cat that was found dead was transferred to Animal Control.

One firefighter was also hospitalized with a minor injury as a result of the fire, officials said. No other victims were found in the house.

It took firefighters 50 minutes to bring the fire under control. They were able to secure a water supply using a 2-and-a-half-foot hose despite fire hydrant caps that were frozen due to the cold weather conditions.

Fire crews deemed the house uninhabitable. The fire remains under investigation by the Aurora Fire Department's investigation team.