Some residents of a town home that burned earlier this month said it appeared there was an issue with water supply as firefighters responded, but Park Forest fire Chief Tracy Natyshok said the firefighters followed protocol for tackling a fire while rescuing residents.
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“The Fire Department’s first and foremost concern is the safety of our residents. Getting people out of the building is our number one job,” Natyshok said. “The building is secondary to the people.”
Some residents said it seemed the fire wasn’t put out until the Frankfort Fire Department arrived.
“I don’t know if they was having issues with the water pressure being low but it seemed like, to me, it didn’t really get out until Frankfort came,” said Herb Jackson, who said the fire was still burning when he arrived home about 11 p.m. “It seemed like that put out the fire more so than what everybody else was doing.”
Natyshok explained that crew arrived in time to deploy an aerial operation, using a machine that looks like a mounted ladder with a hose on the end that shoots water from above. An aerial operation can’t be used when there are people still in the building, he said.
Firefighters were called at 9 p.m. June 16 to the 0-100 block of Indianwood Boulevard, and the fire quickly spread throughout the eight-unit town home, according to a news release from the Park Forest Police Department.
A preliminary investigation found the fire was caused by multiple electronics being plugged into a power strip, Natyshok said. The fire started in the attic of the town home, he said, and spread quickly because the attic of the building was an open space without any walls between units.
The fire displaced 19 people, said village spokesman Joshua Vinson. He said officials placed bins in Village Hall where residents can donate nonperishable food items, toiletries and clothes for those affected by the fire.
Appraisers were walking throughout the building Thursday, taking note of the fire damage. Pieces of debris were still scattered about the grass, including a pile of burned clothing outside a bottom floor window.
Ramon Mosqueda, the maintenance man for the property, which includes 25 buildings and 168 units, said he received a call about the fire late that day and when he arrived at about 11:30 p.m. the fire was already out.
Mosqueda said what’s most important is that no one was killed or injured.
“This can all be rebuilt, it’s not a problem. You can’t bring somebody back if they perish,” Mosqueda said.
Natyshok said when fire crews arrive at a fire, they first complete search and rescue and fire suppression.
“In this particular case, our initial objective was to get in to make sure the building was all clear,” Natyshok said.
For fire suppression, the fire crew first used the water tank on the engine, which carries 500 gallons of water, he said. When using the water tank, the water flows 100 gallons a minute, so that water lasts five minutes, Natyshok said.
Before the tank water runs out, fire crews need to find a hydrant, and in this case the nearest hydrant was about 500 feet away.
Ultimately, the crews used two fire hydrants to battle the blaze, Natyshok said, which means crews have to connect the hoses and run the lines to the fire.
“Water was not an issue at all for us, just establishing the water source,” Natyshok said. “The lines have to be manually grabbed, pulled and stretched 500 feet.”
Fire crews couldn’t deploy an aerial operation sooner because crews were inside the building looking for residents, so shooting water from the top of the building would be dangerous, Natyshok said.
“We’re inside these buildings doing searches, making sure they’re all emptied,” Natyshok said. “Once the water comes in from the top, it pushes smoke and heat.So if you have people inside doing searches, you absolutely do not want water coming from the top.”
Mosqueda said the town homes were built in the late 1940s, but the brick structure of the buildings is sturdy. Since the fire started in the attic, Mosqueda said the building can be aired out, the interior rebuild and the roof replaced.
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“From what I see, it can be rebuilt,” Mosqueda said. “Fire and smoke can be cleaned up, the roof can be rebuilt. I don’t think they have to knock it down.”