An 81-year-old woman attempting to light a candle near her oxygen tank caught herself on fire and had to be airlifted to the hospital Sunday evening in Antioch.
The Antioch Fire Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 10:05 p.m. Sunday to the 41000 block of North 3rd Street in unincorporated Antioch for a report of a burn victim.
Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Lt. Christopher Covelli told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that a resident of the home called 911 to report the incident.
The caller reported that she was returning home from walking her dog when she heard her family member calling for help from inside the residence.
The caller saw the 81-year-old woman’s upper body was on fire, Covelli said.
The caller immediately ran inside the home and extinguished the fire with water.
Covelli said the fire is believed to have started when the 81-year-old woman, who was utilizing oxygen at the time, attempted to light a candle on the coffee table.
The victim suffered serious burn injuries and was flown by a medical helicopter to Loyola Medical Center’s Burn Unit in Maywood for further treatment.
Covelli said the woman is expected to survive the incident.