Two people died Wednesday morning after a house fire in Mokena, in Will County, southwest of Chicago.
The victims, a man and a woman, were pulled from the home on Magnolia Avenue and Catalpa Road. One person was found near the front of the home; the other was found inside a bedroom, a fire official said.
First responders performed CPR on both of them in an effort to save them but both were later confirmed dead. Their names were not released as of 5:30 a.m., but Asst. Fire Chief Bob Wilson described both as "elderly."
Crews called to the home at about 3:20 a.m. faced extremely dangerous conditions. An officer at one point tried to enter the home but was turned away by the massive flames and smoke. That officer later went to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox to be treated for smoke inhalation.
"We had multiple reports on the way in that there was fire showing so they were ready when they got here," said Wilson.
The fire was out as of 5:30 a.m. and the fire marshal was on hand trying to determine a cause.
