Two women are dead after a fire in suburban Northlake, authorities say.
Authorities identified the women as 63-year-old Maricarmen Wilkerson and 65-year-old Susan Palos.
Crews arriving at the home in the neighborhood found the structure fully engulfed, with smoke pouring out as they got ready to battle the blaze.
“You could not even see what was in front of you. It was scary,” neighbor Chris Peterson said.
As they battled the blaze, firefighters discovered the two women inside, pulling them from the building and rushing them to a nearby hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries.
“They were unconscious but breathing at the time, but at the hospital they succumbed to their injuries,” Fire Chief Ken Beres said.
Beres said that a mayday call was sent out during the rescue operation, with firefighters having to evacuate the building because of the intense smoke and flames.
No firefighters were injured.
Fire investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire, and it’s unclear whether there were working smoke detectors in the residence.
