A machine used to seal pavement cracks is the focus of an investigation into a July 31 fire in Oak Park that destroyed the village’s public works storage facility.
On Monday, Oak Park fire officials gave an overview of the blaze–which burned for nearly two hours–in a meeting with Village Board members. The cause is still undetermined, they said.
But an investigation by the state fire marshal’s office, the village’s Fire Department and its insurance provider found that the fire originated in an area occupied by a crack-sealing machine, said Oak Park Fire Battalion Chief Tom Ebsen.
The machine has been moved from the gutted storage facility to a controlled site for an examination by investigators with the village’s insurance carrier and the machine’s manufacturer, Ebsen said. He said it could take up to six months before final reports are completed.
The storage facility at 131 South Blvd. housed public works vehicles and heavy equipment, the municipal vehicle body repair shop and streetlight operations.
John Wielebnicki, public works director, said his department lost about 30 vehicles and heavy equipment to the fire, including street sweepers, snowplows and brush chippers. Replacement costs could reach $2 million, he said.
No one was injured in the blaze, which damaged two units of a nearby 38-unit apartment building and displaced residents for five days.