Two suffer minor injuries in Palatine house fires

A pair of Palatine residents received minor injuries in separate house fires over a 15-hour span Monday afternoon into early Tuesday morning.

The first fire occurred about 3:48 p.m. Monday near the furnace of a home in the 200 block of Park Drive, in the Plum Grove Estates subdivision, Palatine Fire Battalion Chief Patrick Gratzianna said.

Crews from the Palatine and Rolling Meadows fire departments arrived and found a couple in their late 60s waiting outside the one-story residence, which was surrounded by a smokey haze.

The man received treatment on the scene for minor smoke inhalation, but refused transport to the hospital, authorities said.

Investigators determined cardboard and other combustible materials were stored too close to the furnace. Damage was estimated at $5,000.

The second fire started about 4:21 a.m. Tuesday in a one-story, single-family home on the 1700 block of North Jarvis Court.

Several Palatine police officers arrived on the scene first and assisted a man in his late 40s who uses a wheelchair, getting him to safety within five minutes of the call. He was treated for minor smoke inhalation and transported to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights as a precaution.

Investigators determined the blaze was caused by “careless use of smoking materials in bed” and estimated damages at $8,500, authorities said. The Arlington Heights Fire Department assisted.

There were working smoke detectors in both homes, officials said.