Palatine fire blamed on space heater

Combustible items stored too close to a space heater sparked a fire Sunday morning that temporarily displaced 15 residents of a Palatine condominium building and caused more than $100,000 in damage, fire officials said Monday.

Palatine Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Gratzianna said investigators are not able to determine exactly what types of items caught fire but said typical examples would be wood, paper, plastic or clothes.

"I doubt they might find it because a lot of that stuff gets burned away," he said.

The first-floor unit where the fire apparently started is a "total loss," Gratzianna said, and a neighboring unit and the unit above it sustained intense smoke damage. Most residents displaced by the fire have been able to move back in.

Factoring in the loss of one unit and the smoke damage in the other two, Gratzianna said the initial damage estimate is between $110,000 and $115,000.

Gratzianna said a formal report on the fire is expected to be filed by the end of the week.