(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- One person was injured overnight when fire destroyed a motel in Leyden Township, near west suburban Melrose Park.
Officials said the fire -- the cause of which is still under investigation -- started around 1:30 a.m. Monday at the O’Hare Kitchenette Motel, located at 2301 Mannheim Road.
Fire officials said the bitter cold temperatures made the fire harder to extinguish, as there were frozen hydrants and other water issues in the motel.
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As many as 100 people were inside the motel when the fire started. The American Red Cross reports it has helped 18 families, including 38 individuals, and expected that number to grow because some occupants may have fled the scene to find temporary shelter.
According to CBS 2, tenants rushed to help a woman, who they said was on fire.
“She was on fire, her hair was on fire so my son put it out,” Ernestine Dinkins said.
Another tenant told CBS 2 he heard crackling early Monday morning and went to check where the noise was coming from. He went to help the resident who was on fire, as well as his own mother.
“So I went in and got a blanket and I put her out,” Alvin Willis said. “But she was trying to get back in there to get her cat. I kept telling her go downstairs, but she wouldn’t move. But then I had to get my mother out, because I was concerned about my mother.”
The woman who was reportedly on fire was taken to a hospital with burns that weren’t life-threatening.
The fire engulfed the building and half of the motel’s second story collapsed, according to Leyden Township Fire Protection District Chief Cory Ryan.
Firefighters initially brought fire hoses inside the building, but their two accessible hydrants froze shut, Ryan said. Crews quickly depleted the water in their engines and went on the defensive. Firefighters used torches to thaw the hydrants.
According to officials, the motel had working smoke detectors, and there were no other injuries reported.
At least 12 departments helped douse the fire, Ryan said. There were also two warming buses.
American Red Cross spokeswoman Joy Squier said the organization is prepared to help more people, if necessary.
"People will learn that there are some services to be had and we hope they’ll come out and let us help them," Squier said.
WBBM: So, people who might have left the scene just to try to get warm somehow?
"Exactly. People who left the scene and didn’t realize there’d be support will hear about the Red Cross volunteers who are out there helping right now and will come forward," she said.
Squier said on Sunday night, the Red Cross provided meals, health services, and helped residents figure out things "like glasses, canes, walkers, medication as well as mental health services and support."
She said there have been 25 fires in the city and suburbs in the past week.
The state’s fire marshal's office is assisting in the investigation.