A Streamwood couple is alive Thursday after fire tore through their home, thanks to their college-aged son and a police sergeant.
Bilal Tahir said that at first he thought his father was being playful when he came in and woke him up just before 11:30 a.m. telling him that the house was on fire.
"As soon as I walked out, there was all this -- the whole place... was on fire," Tahir said.
He said his dad, Mohammad Tahir, was "in shock" and he kept telling him to get out of the house while he went looking for his mother, who gets around with the help of a walker. Tahir found his mother in the shower and helped her get out of the house, located on the 1800 block of Williamsburg Drive.
"I couldn't breathe at that time. It was really hot," he said.
Streamwood officials said the first person on the scene besides the family was Hoffman Estates Police Sgt. Joe Dornbos, who also helped evacuate family members.
Tahir's 60-year-old mother, Tahira Tahir, was taken to St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates but was later released and is staying with family elsewhere. His father remains hospitalized.
A Streamwood firefighter also was treated and released at St. Alexius.
The fire destroyed the garage and did significant damage to the roof structure of the house. The damage is estimated at $100,000, the Streamwood Fire Department said.
