No injuries in Palatine apartment fire started by smoking materials

A fire caused by improperly disposed smoking materials struck Saturday morning at a Palatine apartment building, but no one was injured, authorities said.

Crews responding to the 1000 block of North Bayside Drive were able to contain the fire to the third-story unit where it started, Battalion Chief Anthony Lavacchi of the Palatine Fire Department said.

Firefighters originally were alerted by a call at 8:53 a.m. for an activated smoke alarm. While they were heading to the scene near Route 53 and Rand Road, more calls came in as residents reported smoke in the third-story hallway, Lavacchi said.

By the time the first fire engine made it to the scene, crews could see smoke coming from a third-story balcony.

Lavacchi said Palatine and Arlington Heights firefighters put out the fire within about an hour, and the last responding vehicle left the scene about 10:35 a.m.

While they worked, firefighters evacuated a small group of residents to a clubhouse in the complex, Lavacchi said. Everyone except residents of the unit where the fire started was able to return home by the time firefighters left.

Lavacchi said firefighters determined improperly disposed smoking materials to be the cause of the fire, which left the affected unit uninhabitable.