Schaumburg fire leaves row house unit uninhabitable

A fire that left a Schaumburg row house unit uninhabitable Friday night may have been caused by leaving something on the stove, authorities said.

Schaumburg Fire Department officials say a neighbor saw smoke coming from the 3-story multifamily building complex on the 1800 block of Dumont Lane about 3:30 p.m. Friday and called 911. When firefighters got there, they found flames in the kitchen, and were able to put them out.

But the smoke damage to the home was so bad that the residents weren’t able to stay there Friday night, said Battalion Chief Rick Anderson.

“Investigators are still trying to find out, but it looks like it was careless use of cooking materials at this time,” Anderson said. “It looks like (the resident) was possibly cooking and left the building for a few moments, and the neighbor saw smoke coming from the third floor.”

The residents were able to leave the house on their own by the time firefighters arrived. They were expected to stay at a hotel in the area on Friday, Anderson said.

No injuries were reported.