La Grange Park firefighters recently responded to a residential kitchen fire in a three-story apartment building in the 1600 block of Forest Road.
La Grange Park was assisted by the La Grange Fire Department that occurred at 8:42 p.m. Sunday.
“I want to stress how important it was that the fire alarm called us,” Fire Chief Dean Maggos said in a recent telephone interview, noting that every apartment in the 27-unit dwelling had smoke detectors which set off the alarm.
Firefighters discovered a cooking fire had occurred in one of the apartments. The fire had spread to other parts of the kitchen, including cabinets.
The resident was home at the time and managed to extinguish the fire shortly before firefighters reached the scene. EMS personnel checked the occupant who extinguished the fire, but their condition did not require hospitalization.
Overall damage to the apartment is currently estimated at $1,750.
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Maggos said that the key takeaway from the incident was the importance of practicing good cooking fire safety.
“Those are the key aspects,” he said, pointing out that rules to be strictly adhered to included remaining nearby when cooking on a stove, especially if any grease is involved in the cooking, not storing combustibles, close to cooking areas, and staying in the area or turning off burners if leaving the area.
He also said that one should never use water on a grease fire, and to keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.