Firefighters Almost Incinerated When Trapped in Elevator

CHICAGO —  Five firefighters trying to reach a blaze in a downtown skyscraper were nearly incinerated early Wednesday when the elevator in which they were riding malfunctioned and took them directly to the fire site, fire officials said.

“We almost lost five men in the elevator,” First 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, Crawford said.

The fire killed a 31-year-old woman who apparently had stayed late Tuesday night to work in an advertising agency on the 20th floor, authorities said.