12 Oaks tenants return: 'Everything seems ruined'

Authorities said Friday they believe the fire that consumed a three-story apartment building in Rolling Meadows the day before started accidentally.

Meanwhile, residents returned to try to salvage what they could.

"We got our documents!" exclaimed Venkat Kay, 25, one of five international students from India staying in 12 Oaks. They were able to salvage their drenched passports and immigration paperwork kept in suitcases in their apartment, but they lost seven laptops and gold jewelry that had melted from the heat.

Rolling Meadows Police Sgt. Tony Gaspari said officials don't yet know what sparked the fire, which originated in the kitchen area of a second-floor apartment in the 4708 building of the 12 Oaks complex and displaced more than 60 people.

The building, one of 19 west of Route 53 and south of Algonquin Road, has about 30 units, all of which appear damaged.

The fire broke out about 3:30 p.m. Thursday and took firefighters from numerous departments roughly three hours to extinguish. It blazed through the second floor and up on the third floor and then into the attic, where the wooden trusses caught fire quickly.

Five units have heavy fire, smoke and water damage, while the rest of the apartments also suffered water damage and 80 percent of the building's roof is gone, authorities said.

Twenty-seven families were displaced; they were put up in area hotels for the night or are staying with relatives. At least one person is believed to have been taken to Northwest Community Hospital, but his or her condition remained unknown Friday.

Firefighters also retrieved a dog and two cats from the building unharmed.

Rolling Meadows Fire Chief Ron Stewart said the State Fire Marshal went through the building and determined that while it is uninhabitable, people can be allowed inside for a limited time to salvage whatever essentials they can.

Eighteen hours after families fled the building as it was engulfed in a raging fire, they returned Friday morning, waiting patiently for their chance to go inside and recover whatever possessions they can. At about 2:30 p.m., the apartment complex management started allowing tenants inside, two people at a time, for a maximum of 15 minutes.

What started out somewhat orderly disintegrated into chaos when many tenants refused to sign a letter stating 12 Oaks management and owners are not responsible for any personal injury or any damage to personal property. The property owner and management eventually gave in after numerous tenants protested.

"I don't blame them for not signing something that they don't like," said 12 Oaks owner Mike Sparks, 69, of Arlington Heights.

The Rolling Meadows Fire Department helped affected families retrieve personal belongings from the charred remains of the building until Friday evening.

Tasneem Zehra, a 46-year-old mother of four, was anxious more than anything to retrieve her family's immigration papers, which will assure their right to remain in the U.S. and work here, she said. All their documents were in their unit, which is next door to the one in which the fire is believed to have began.

She fears all is gone, along with her 26-year-old daughter Fatima's college books.

"I came here with my kids so that they could have a good education," she said Friday morning, in Urdu. "But now everything seems ruined. I didn't know that there is insurance for rental units."

The family came to the U.S. from Pakistan in 2004; Zehra's husband died in 2001. There are only distant relatives living in the area and she has no idea where they will stay.

Some tenants walked out only with what they could carry in their arms. Others filled garbage bags, desk drawers and laundry baskets with stuff.

One mother and her four kids emptied the entire contents of their first-floor apartment in the rear of the building onto the lawn with help from volunteers. They carried out everything they could get their hands on, including glass tables, dinner plates and glasses still shelved in glass cupboards, furniture, a blender, a doll and a Christmas tree.

Holding a bunch of cardboard boxes, Deonte Jackson, 24, who lives in Apt. 212 with his father, Michael, and twin brother Donte, said once inside he planned to make a beeline for his wallet, his work clothes, birth certificate, a money bank, his mother's picture, and a pair of shoes that was given to him by his friend, Andy, who died two years ago.

"That's basically all I have left of him," he said. "I won't know until I go inside. I can see from outside the damage."

Sparks said there will be three moving vans at the building Saturday morning to help families move out whatever furniture they couldn't carry Friday.

"We're very sorry for having to displace all of the residents until we get the apartments reconditioned," Sparks said, adding that they are working on a plan for temporary housing. "We're going to help them get relocated into other apartments in the area."

Individuals and groups are reaching out to help families in need.

The American Red Cross set up food and shelter Friday night for the affected families at the Harvest Bible Fellowship, 800 Rohlwing Road, Rolling Meadows. Mental health and social workers also will be at hand to counsel and assess the families' needs.

Red Cross spokeswoman Maria Corral said she didn't know how long the families would be allowed to take shelter there.

"We will just sort of play it by ear, if more folks would need to stay at the shelter in the coming days," she said. "The goal is to get people back on their feet back in permanent housing as quickly as possible. If it looks like it is going to be a longer-term displacement situation, then we refer them to agencies that can help them in that phase of recovery."

The Red Cross also has given families debit cards that can be used to purchase infant supplies, food, clothing and medications to last three days. Some families received $500, others less based on the number of family members.

The principal of MacArthur Elementary School in Hoffman Estates has contacted its families who were affected by the fire to let them know other school families were supporting them and dropping items off at the school for them to use.

Lisa Moore, a 12 Oaks employee, gathered an armful of clothes from her own home Friday afternoon. Donations are being collected in the apartment complex's management office.

"I've got clothes in here I haven't even worn yet," she said. "I work in the office so I know a majority of the families - everybody knows each other here, even though it's big.

"We're trying to make them feel comfortable and help out as much as we can," Moore said.

Fire: People are reaching out to help

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=292363">Images from Rolling Meadows apartment fire</a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=292047">Fire destroys apartment building in Rolling Meadows <span class="date">[05/08/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>