Woman Rescued In La Grange Fire: Official

LA GRANGE, IL – A woman was rescued in a house fire last week in La Grange, but she has since died for unrelated reasons, the fire chief said Tuesday.

The bedridden woman was trapped late Wednesday night on the second floor of a house at 327 S. Catherine Ave., La Grange Fire Chief Terrence Vavra said in an interview. Two police officers brought her out.

The woman, in her 90s, was in hospice, the chief said. After being rescued, she was taken to La Grange's hospital and died a day or two later, with her death unconnected to the fire, he said.

Vavra said the fire started when the woman's daughter heated up soup on the stove. A broken gas line blew off gas and lit a nearby wall on fire, he said.

The police were the first to arrive, followed by local firefighters. The fire was contained in less than 15 minutes, Vavra said.

"We spent some time clearing gas out of the building," Vavra said. "There was a lot of gas built up in the building. We wanted to make sure it was totally clear."

The fire, he said, did relatively little damage.

"From the outside, you wouldn't even know there was a fire," the chief said.

The woman upstairs suffered minor smoke inhalation, Vavra said. No one else was reported as suffering injuries.