Streamwood teens charged in Fox Lake Theater fire

Two Streamwood teens are charged with aggravated arson after police say they set a fire inside a washroom at a Fox Lake movie theater.

Fox Lake Police Chief Mike Behan said the 15-year-old boys entered the washroom at the Fox Lake Theater about 9:30 p.m. Saturday and set a roll of toilet paper on fire.

Due to their age, Behan would not release their names.

After about 10 minutes, the smoke set off alarms and the theater was evacuated.

Behan said off-duty Antioch firefighter Jana Rush, who was at the theater watching a movie at the time, entered the washroom with a fire extinguisher and put out the blaze.

Behan said he did not know the cost or extent of the damage caused by the fire, and it is still under investigation.

He said the fire department was called in to survey the damage and check for additional hot spots.

People who were at the theater were allowed to return to their movies after about an hour, Behan said.

"But, the theater was forced to issue refunds to people who didn't want to wait," he said.

Investigators used the surveillance video from the theater to identify the teens who set the fire. Police searched the area and discovered them at the Fox Lake Taco Bell a short time later.

The two juveniles were taken to the Fox Lake Police Department where they were charged, then sent to the Depke Juvenile Detention Center near Vernon Hills.

"The initial investigative team, led by officer Russ Zander, worked extremely hard to get this done quickly," Behan said. "They really did a great job."