A building with nearly 150 people inside was evacuated and an elderly man was killed when a fire started inside his apartment building in west suburban Lombard Monday night.
The fire started about 10:40 p.m. in a first floor apartment of the 7-story Yorktown II Apartments at 2200 S. Grace St., according to Lombard village spokesman James Plunket.
One man was inside the apartment where the fire started and he was transported to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove in an unidentified condition, Plunket said.
A 91-year-old man was pronounced dead at the Good Samaritan emergency room at 12:11 a.m., according to the DuPage County Coroner’s office, which was not releasing the man's identity immediately.
No one else was inside the apartment where the fire started, Plunket said.
The building has 72 units and the building -- which houses about 145 residents -- was evacuated, though most people got out on their own accord, he said. The building is just north of the Yorktown Center shopping mall, according to Plunket.
“There was at least one rescue, possibly two. We allowed all but 4 units to go back inside,” according to Plunket at 12:10 a.m. He did not have details on the rescue or rescues.
“This is one of the older units and the fire was contained to one unit. The inside [of the fire unit] for all intents and purposes is a total loss,” Plunket said.
The residents who remain out of their homes will be allowed back in later Tuesday morning, he said. The building is equipped with smoke alarms in each unit, he said.
The blaze was brought under control within about 30 to 40 minutes with the help of about 65 firefighters, including some from Addison, Villa Park, Downers Grove, Oak Brook and Lisle-Woodridge.
The fire was not considered suspicious, but investigators remained on the scene early Tuesday trying to determine its cause and origin.
The blaze caused an estimated $225,000 in damage, he said.
