This is the second time this year that LaGrange Park firefighters have been called to an apartment fire in the 1600 block of Forest Avenue.
The automatic alarm was triggered at 8:58 p.m. on July 20 when firefighters received a call about a sofa on fire, but it turned out the blaze started in the kitchen, similar to the January blaze.
The resident was heating household cleaner in a pot on the stove when it overheated and caught fire.
“I was told she was trying to make the place smell better,” Fire Chief Dean Magos said.
When the resident removed a pot from the stove, it hit the wall, causing flames to splash onto the floor and wall, resulting in burns. He then dropped the pot on his futon, which also caught fire.
The woman was treated for burns by Fire Department paramedics and transported by ambulance to Loyola Hospital. Two other minors in the apartment were evaluated by Fire Department paramedics for smoke inhalation but did not require hospital treatment.
Damage to the apartment was estimated at $1,000. The LaGrange Fire Department assisted with the response.
Just two hours after the incident on Forest Road, the fire department responded to another oven fire in the 700 block of Stone Avenue.
In this incident, the oven was on fire, but the fire was put out before it could spread and the house only needed to be ventilated.
“Cooking fires are an ongoing issue,” Magos said. “It's been a theme for the last few years. Use caution when you're cooking, don't leave things cooking on the stove, and use caution when heating anything on the stove.”
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for the Pioneer Press.
