Palatine man accused of setting own apartment on fire

A 37-year-old Palatine man has been arrested after police said he set fire to his own apartment.

Adam Krakowski, of the 1100 block of East Nichols Road, was charged with criminal damage to property for causing smoke damage to the common hallway, walls and carpeting, police said. He was also charged with reckless conduct for endangering the lives of the first responders who performed search and rescue efforts inside the burning apartment, police said.

Krakowski had told first-responders that his brother was inside the burning unit, but no one was found, Palatine Fire Capt. Roy Cipri said. He stressed that the department would have conducted search-and-rescue under any circumstances, but those actions take on more urgency when there's any indication of people trapped in a burning building.

Krakowski was released from jail on a $1,000 recognizance bond and is scheduled to appear in court on May 15.

Police said they don't know why he set fire to four of his couch cushions around 11:45 p.m. Wednesday. A neighbor who observed smoke and flames coming from the unit smashed the sliding glass patio door and helped to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher.

Krakowski was treated at the scene.

The fire caused an estimated $20,000 in damage to the unit, which was deemed uninhabitable.

Police said Krakowski wasn't charged with arson because no one else was home at the time and it was his own property.