Close Call for Local Family
 
By Battalion Chief Mark Oeltgen
December 25, 2017
 

Prospect Heights Fire Fighters, as well as crews from Arlington Hts, Wheeling and Long Grove responded to N. Drury Ln on the evening of Christmas Day. Residents had been out of the house for Christmas day celebrations. Upon their return home they discovered smoke in the house. They called 911 which summoned a structure fire response consisting of 3 engines, 2 tanker trucks, 1 ladder truck, 1 squad truck, an ambulance and 2 chief officers. Crews discovered an over heating boiler unit had started the wooden subfloor on fire underneath the heating unit. After removing drywall from a wall section and opening up the floor, the small fire was discovered and quickly extinguished. No injuries were reported, and the homeowners were staying the night at a relatives house, until the heat for the home could be safely restored.
 
Crews had to remove a toilet and breach a wall to gain access to the fire
Crews had to remove a toilet and breach a wall to gain access to the fire
One of the removed pieces of burnt wood
One of the removed pieces of burnt wood
 
The area under the overheating boiler unit
The area under the overheating boiler unit
Char and smoke damage to the cement board in the adjacent bathroom wall
Char and smoke damage to the cement board in the adjacent bathroom wall