A basement smoke detector saved the Accurso family from a fire on Sunday afternoon, a member of the family says.
Elmwood Park Fire Department said they responded to the fire at 2732 N. 74th Ave. at around 4:30 p.m. Jan. 3. Elmwood Park Fire Chief Kevin Miller said the fire started in the basement of a home.
“The cause is still under investigation, but the fire rendered the house uninhabitable,” he said.
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“There was nobody hurt,” he said. “The residents were home and called the fire department.”
Vince Accurso, 50, who has lived in the home since 1990 with his 73-year-old mother, said when the smoke detector went off, he was on the house’s main floor watching TV with his mother.
“I heard the smoke detector and went downstairs and everything was lit up,” he said.
Miller said the fire didn’t spread and was confined to the basement. It took about 40 minutes to put it out, the chief said.
Fire departments from River Grove, Norwood Park, Franklin Park and other towns came to help fight the fire.
From the outside, the home looks like any other on the block, but the smell of burnt wood is present inside. Accurso said the incident left him in shock at first, but now he’s looking forward to when he can move back in.
“We’re going to come back,” he said. “We just have to start over again. What are you going to do?”
Miller said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Twitter: @DavidDPollard