A 62-year-old woman is in critical condition after a fire broke out in her bed while she was smoking near an oxygen tank at her home in unincorporated Antioch Thursday. Family members managed to put out the flames and keep her alive for roughly 20 minutes of CPR before firefighters arrived, according to authorities.
The Antioch Fire Department and the Lake County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a small fire and an unresponsive woman in the 26500 block of West Wilmot Road, according to the Lake and McHenry County Scanner. The woman, identified as 62 and a resident of the home, was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, per Lake County Sheriff's spokesman Christopher Covelli.
Family Poured Coffee on the Blaze
The fire likely started when the woman smoked in bed and fell asleep, Covelli said. A caller to 911 reported that she was unconscious and not breathing, and that same caller extinguished the flames by pouring coffee on them before dialing for help, Covelli said. The outlet's report notes that family members had put the fire out before firefighters ever arrived, and Antioch Fire Department Chief Ian Kazian said firefighters were advised the small fire, which involved a home oxygen system, had already been handled by relatives.
Firefighters confirmed the fire was out by the time they reached the home, per the outlet's report. The caller performed CPR on the woman until crews arrived, and she regained a pulse after approximately 20 minutes of chest compressions, Covelli said. She was then transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for further evaluation, according to Kazian.
Oxygen Tank Spared, Investigators Say
Despite the fire breaking out near the woman's oxygen equipment, the tank itself never ignited, Covelli said. “It is fortunate the fire did not ignite the tank,” Covelli said, according to the report. A preliminary origin-and-cause investigation determined the fire was accidental and caused by smoking materials, Kazian said, and the blaze did not appear suspicious. The Lake County Sheriff's Office and Antioch Fire Department are continuing to investigate. The woman's condition following her transport to the hospital was not immediately available, per the report.
Not the First Close Call Near Antioch
Home oxygen equipment and open flame have collided dangerously in the area before. In 2021, an 81-year-old woman in unincorporated Antioch caught herself on fire while trying to light a candle near her oxygen tank, according to a separate report from lakemchenryscanner.com. A caller in that incident ran inside and extinguished the flames with water, but the woman suffered serious burns and was flown by medical helicopter to Loyola Medical Center's Burn Unit in Maywood.
Similar incidents have played out beyond Lake County. In Flint, Michigan, two people who were both in wheelchairs and using oxygen were hospitalized after an oxygen tank ignited while they were smoking inside their home, according to midmichigannow.com. And in 2022, another woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition following a house fire near Antioch, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
