Firefighters Taking Elevator to Blaze Nearly Incinerated
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CHICAGO — Five firefighters trying to reach a blaze in a downtown skyscraper were nearly incinerated today when the elevator in which they were riding malfunctioned and took them directly to the scene, officials said.
“We almost lost five men in the elevator,” 1st Battalion Fire Chief William Crawford said.
But a husky firefighter, Tom Holibik, managed to hold the elevator doors shut until colleagues made their way to the 20th floor and controlled the blaze near the elevator, said Crawford.
The fire killed a 31-year-old woman who apparently had been working all night in an advertising agency on the 20th floor, authorities said.
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