Jan. 11--Two people were hospitalized in critical condition after someone in an Aurora motel alerted firefighters to a fire in a nearby room Friday night, authorities said.
About 7:30 p.m., an occupant reported a fire inside a motel in the 1000 block of East Benton Street, Aurora Fire Department officials said in a release.
Firefighters found a small fire in a first-story unit producing heavy smoke, according to the release. Two people were found during a search of the unit and taken to Rush Copley Medical Center, where they were listed in critical condition, a fire department spokesman said.
Further information about the victims was not immediately available.
Firefighters managed to keep the flames from spreading to any of the building's five other units. Fire damage was estimated at $50,000, according to the fire department.
The motel's owner found six occupants rooms at another local hotel.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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