Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
A Woodstock man woke up at 3 a.m. and took his dog for a walk. Fire chief Michael Hill doesn’t know the man’s name, but said he may be responsible for saving about 50 people from a massive fire at the 32-unit Willow Brooke Apartments complex in Woodstock.
After letting out his dog, he saw the smoke and called 911 to alert report that a building was on fire and then he entered the building and started knocking on doors and alerting residents to leave,” Hill said. “I wish I had his name.”
Crews from the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded and called for mutual aid from surrounding fire departments. About 60 to 70 firefighters responded to 2105 Willow Brooke Drive about 3:15 a.m. The origin seems to have been on a balcony, and the fire went up to the roof line, where the top of the two-story building was engulfed.
“Both in the warning to get the fire department on the way and also the warning of people—it took quite a while until smoke detectors were activated—those residents would not have been alerted if it were not for that gentleman,” Hill said.
Even with the man’s warning, firefighters and the Woodstock Police Department had to rescue people from two balconies and make one rescue from inside the building.
Hill said the fire was one of the tougher ones he remembers because there was no vehicle access to the back of the building.
Where firefighters might have encountered fire in the attic space between the residents’ ceilings and the roof, they instead found plywood nearly an inch thick, giving the fire ample space to burn where firefighters couldn’t get water on it directly. It took about 90 minutes to get the blaze under control.
“Apparently they had put a second roof over the top of the other, because the first roof was leaking, creating a void space between which is where the fire got into, making it virtually impossible for us to access it,” Hill said.
The American Red Cross provided lodging to 43 people from 32 units and brought in breakfast and lunch for the residents and for emergency crews. Firefighters were at the location through Saturday afternoon.
thanks Dan
