Microwave fire ignites Schaumburg kitchen

A microwave sparked a fire inside a Schaumburg home Wednesday night that caused an estimated $65,000 damage, according to fire officials.

Schaumburg fire investigators said the female resident of the home on the 1500 block of Colwyn Drive accidentally added a “0” while setting the microwave, which overheated and caused the fire.

Firefighters responded to the home at about 8:45 p.m. and found the kitchen on fire, but the woman had been alerted by fire alarms and escaped through the front door, said Schaumburg Fire Captain Robert Levin.

The kitchen was heavily involved with fire, and firefighters knocked out a number of windows in the home to ventilate smoke from throughout the house, Levin said.

The fire was quickly extinguished, but caused an estimated $50,000 to the single-story structure and another $15,000 to the contents of the home, according to fire officials.

A board-up service was called to the home Wednesday night, and the woman is staying with family nearby until the house can be repaired, Levin said.

No firefighters were injured in the blaze.