From the Chicago Tribune

Comcast crew aids in Lake in the Hills fire rescue

Tribune staff report

May 9, 2008, 6:19 PM CDT

A Lake in the Hills man trapped on the front-porch roof of his burning home was rescued Friday by two Comcast workers, authorities said.

The man, 21, was in an upstairs bedroom around 9:30 a.m. when he smelled smoke and jumped through a window onto the roof, said Kim Matz, a firefighter with the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District.

"A Comcast truck was passing by, saw the smoke and the man on the roof and stopped. They rescued him," said Matz. "They threw a ladder up to the porch roof and he was able to climb down."

The man's 12-year-old brother also was home when the fire started in the basement of the two-story house in the 9300 block of Virginia Road. The brother escaped through the front door, Matz said.

A preliminary investigation indicated that the fire may have started in materials left too close to a hot water heater, Matz said.

Authorities did not release the names of the occupants of the house or the Comcast employees.

Firefighters from eight other departments assisted in putting out the fire. Matz said tanker trucks were needed to bring in water because there are no hydrants.