Authorities: Blowtorch likely cause of Elk Grove building fire
A fire in an Elk Grove Village condominium building was likely sparked late Tuesday afternoon by a construction crew using a blowtorch to solder water pipes together, authorities said.
The fire ignited about 5:30 p.m. on the first floor of a building in the Terrace of Elk Grove Village condo complex, 920 Ridge Square. It spread through the walls to the second and third floors, but firefighters were able to prevent it from going any further by stopping it before it reached the attic and roof, according to Fire Chief Richard Mikel.
Mikel said the condo building has a mansard roof, distinguished by its layers of wood shingles, and if ablaze would be “very difficult to fight.”
“They need a lot of water and a lot of people,” Mikel said. “We got ahead of it based on bad experiences with this type of building.”
Police officers were first to arrive on scene just after 5:30 p.m., and with smoke filling the hallways of all three floors, began evacuating residents. After firefighters arrived, it took about 45 minutes to bring the fire under control, Mikel said.
Nine condo units had fire, smoke and water damage, and were uninhabitable Tuesday night. As many as 20 residents were displaced. Volunteers from the Red Cross were helping residents find temporary shelter.
There were no reported injuries to residents or firefighters.
Fire trucks from Arlington Heights, Itasca, Mount Prospect, Palatine and Schaumburg were called to the scene as part of an upgraded alarm response.