Crime & Safety

Woman, Dog Escape Early Morning Fire in Plainfield Township

The 57-year-old woman suffered smoke inhalation in the fire, which destroyed her Von Esch Road home.

A Plainfield Township woman was hospitalized early Tuesday after narrowly escaping a fire in her Von Esch Road home.


Plainfield Deputy Fire Chief Jon Stratton said the 57-year-old woman awoke around 5 a.m. to the sound of her fire alarm going off at her house in the 2400 block of Von Esch.

"She was able to get out of the house along with her dog and get to a neighbor's house for safety," Stratton said. "I'll be honest — she's very lucky she got out. When she opened the [bedroom] door up, the smoke was down to the floor."

Stratton said the woman and her pet had to run directly past the blaze, which is believed to have started in the living room, to make their escape.

"How she got out of there is just amazing," Stratton said. 

When firefighters arrived on the scene, heavy fire was coming out the front door and the living room of the home, according to Stratton. "The house is unlivable," he said. "The fire was actually coming through the roof." He said investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.

Stratton said the woman suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.

"I was at the hospital, I spoke with her through an interpreter and she's doing pretty well," Stratton said. The dog was uninjured in the fire. A man who also lives at the home was at work at the time of the fire, he said.


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