Chicago Flashover Injures 9 Firefighters

CHICAGO (AP) -- Dense black smoke that suddenly ignited into a ''flashover'' fireball injured nine Chicago firefighters at a North Side house fire early Monday, authorities said.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said one of the firefighters was listed in critical condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was being treated in a hyperbaric chamber.

''He was conscious and alert, but he'd been exposed to such a high level of carbon monoxide that they decided the hyperbaric chamber was needed,'' said Langford, who explained that the high-pressure oxygen inside the chamber is a good means of replacing the carbon monoxide absorbed by the body's red blood cells.

Langford said firefighters were first called to the dwelling in the city's Lakeview neighborhood to deal with a rubbish fire in a back shed, but by the time they arrived, the fire had spread to the back of the two-story house as well.

''Conditions were apparently perfect for a flashover, and the smoke exploded in a fireball,'' Langford said. ''Their injuries ranged from singed ears to serious smoke inhalation.''

Langford said a total of four firefighters were taken to Illinois Masonic, while two others went to Weiss Memorial Hospital, and three with minor injuries were transported to Swedish Covenant Hospital. He said all but two had been released from the hospitals after five hours.

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