CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- An elderly couple died Thursday night in a house fire in the Old Irving Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side.
Robert Szalacha, 85, and his wife Carol Szalacha, 78, were found inside the home and pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Their daughter, who was also inside, got out and refused medical attention, police and neighbors said.
The fire broke out about 9:20 p.m. on the first floor of the home in the 4200 block of North Kildare Avenue, and soon engulfed the building, according to Chicago Fire Department officials. Carol Szalacha was using supplemental oxygen on the first floor, according to CFD spokesman Larry Langford, and officials believe it was exposed to something flammable.
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Deputy District Chief Brian McKermitt said crews “encountered heavy fire on the first floor” after receiving reports the couple was trapped. While inside, the blaze “started intensifying,” and the firefighters retreated outside.
Once the fire was brought under control, a search was conducted, and the bodies were discovered, McKermitt said. Langford said Robert Szalacha was found on the second floor.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, he added.
Dozens of onlookers lined the street and peered from their porches as crews of firefighters beat back the blaze.
Two neighbors clung to each other, looking on in disbelief. The man and woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said they knew the couple and saw that their daughter had escaped the Thanksgiving Day inferno.
“No matter what time, it’s a tragedy,” said one of the neighbors.
By 10:40 p.m., the massive fire was largely reduced to smoldering rubble.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2020. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)