Apartments burn in Bridgeview 7-16-12

This from Keith Grzadziel

Shortly after noon today, the Bridgeview Fire Department was dispatched to 7340 W. 86th St for the apartment fire. Upon arrival, Battalion 40 was greeted with heavy fire on all three floors of the Division A side and requested a Full Still on Box #42.

Bridgeview Engine 416 made a quick hit with their deck gun which knocked down the majority of the fire. Crews advanced a skid line to the 3rd floor to attack fire that communicated into the east unit via the eaves. Companies had extensive overhaul to perform due to the fire travel in the mansard and roof.

Companies assisting Bridgeview were Bedford Park, Evergreen Park, North Palos and Roberts Park all with trucks and Oak Lawn with an ambulance.

Apartment building fire in Bridgeview 7-16-12 on 86th street

Keith Grzadziel photo

Tags: apartment building fire in Bridgeview, Bedford Park Fire Department, Bridgeview Fire Department, fire guts 86th street apartments, heavy fire at apartment building, Keith Grzadziel

This entry was posted on July 16, 2012, 10:11 PM and is filed under Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Service News, Reader submission. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

9 Comments

#1 by Martin on July 20, 2012 - 12:10 PM

Well, thanks for the correction. I thought maybe this firefighter was correct, I guess not. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
#2 by fire investigator on July 19, 2012 - 7:38 PM

Martin the grill on the first floor was a charcoal grill which had no propane period. The damage on the grill was caused by the fire not the cause as Keith had said/ The 3rd floor east unit was the only one that had any heat or fire damage, the rest of the units had smoke and water damage only on the inside, but can’t say the same for the exterior. Whoever the fireman was that told you about a propane grill was mistaken and probably not there like Keith and myself.
#3 by Martin on July 19, 2012 - 2:16 AM

I was told the east apartment on the first floor had a lot of damage and that a propane tank on the first went off. A firefighter told me.
#4 by Keith Grzadziel on July 18, 2012 - 11:09 PM

There was no accelerant used, as this fire was of accidental cause. DMc you are correct, the bushes on the left side of the building by the first floor patio were the area of orgin. Our investigators found at least a hundred cigarette butts scattered about. With the extremely dry conditions it didn’t take long for the bushes to take off and communicate to the shingle covered mansard extending upward. Asphalt shingles liquidfy and accelerate a fire especially when burning vertically. The propane grill didn’t effect the fire spread to the mansard. Also the first floor apartments did not have the most damage. The 3rd floor east unit had the most damage from fire burning thru the mansard and eaves.
#5 by Martin on July 17, 2012 - 11:12 PM

DMc77, there is interior damage to most of the apartments that reaches far into them. To my knowledge the first floor apartments have the most damage. As to how the fire reached the shingles, I stick by the propane tank on the grill because the fire wouldn’t do this much damage. An owner told me that they think a cigarette started the grass fire. She also told me that her children were sleeping at the time of the fire, thanks to the Bridgeview FD and mutual aid on their great work and saving lives.
#6 by DMc77 on July 17, 2012 - 4:04 PM

Whether an accelerant was used or not, the majority of the combustion taking place is due to the vertically applied asphalt shingles, or “gasoline siding” as it used to be called. I would guess the point of origin was low, probably the first floor which got the shingles going. As shown, this provided an ample flame front to extend to the decks and eventually to the interior/roof area. There doesn’t appear to be a great deal of structural damage from the fire, just a lot of melted shingles. E416 did a great job knocking the fire with their deck gun.
#7 by Martin on July 17, 2012 - 12:33 PM

The fire looks like it started in the grass then spread to a grill, the propane tank must have accelerated the fire. I have a picture that I took today after the fire.
#8 by chris r on July 17, 2012 - 12:27 PM

With the high tempertures and everything so dry, it wouldn’t take much to get a building fire rolling quickly .
#9 by Tom Foley on July 16, 2012 - 11:55 PM

That first pic with the entire front side involved is amazing. I can’t imagine it was some accident. It would seem something accelerated the fire. Clearly just an amateur observation. What does everyone else think?