Wilmette firefighters fought two separate house fires on Monday, battling one that started in the roof of an Ashland Avenue home just before 2 p.m., and a second one that also began in an upper floor ceiling, called in just after 3 p.m. on Chestnut Avenue.
Fire Chief Mike McGreal said Tuesday that the fire on the 1300 block of Ashland caused an estimated $300,000 in damages, while damages for the Chestnut Avenue blaze have been estimated at $150,000. Investigations are continuing in both cases.
Wilmette firefighters battling the Ashland blaze were aided by crews from Winnetka, Northfield, Evanston, Glenview, Skokie, Highland Park and Morton Grove, who either helped on the scene or who stayed on duty at Wilmette’s fire stations, McGreal said.
Crews from Lincolnwood and Glencoe helped Wilmette and other crews during the Chestnut fire, he said.
The Ashland alarm came in at 1:48 p.m. McGreal said that when crews arrived, they saw smoke and flames coming out of the house’s roof, in close proximity to a neighboring house, but were able to get it under control within about 20 minutes. Firefighters had to cut holes in the roof to get at the fire in the attic, which stood atop two lower floors, he said.
Firefighters were hindered slightly when a valve on one of two hydrants crews were using on Ashland ruptured, limiting the amount of available water, according to McGreal.
Then, as crews were starting cleanup efforts on Ashland, dispatchers alerted them at 3:12 p.m. to the Chestnut alarm, McGreal said.
“We released a company from Ashland for the Chestnut incident,” he said. “Luckily we had reached the point where we were beginning to wrap up.”
When crews reached the two-story house on Chestnut, they saw smoke coming from the second floor, which they eventually tracked to the space above a bathroom ceiling.
Most of that fire was also extinguished quickly, within about 10 minutes, McGreal said.
At both houses, firefighters concentrated on saving interior belongings by throwing tarps over them.
“The guys took great pains in covering peoples’ belongings,” he said. “That’s part of our job, and we try to save as much as possible.”
Wilmette firefighters have been busy in the past few weeks, dealing with an Aug. 11 fire at the Imperial Motors Jaguar Dealership, a July 30 house fire on the 1800 block of Elmwood Avenue and July 23 fires caused by lightning strikes at houses on Elmwood and Greenleaf Avenues.
McGreal said it isn’t uncommon for firefighters and paramedics to deal with more than one incident at a time, as they did on Monday.
“We have simultaneous calls, or calls at the same time, 23 to 26 percent of the time, although not always two fires at the same time,” he said.
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy
More Top Picks Best Blue Light Glasses