Palatine firefighters responded for a report of smoke on the third floor of an apartment building at 12 E Dundee Quarter late Sunday afternoon (3-19-23). Palatine police officers reported smoke and then flames from the roof and the response was upgraded to a Code 4 working fire.
Palatine crews made an interior attack with two lines on the third floor and performed searches of the building. Unable to get ahead of the volume of fire overhead and in the mansard roof in addition to deteriorating conditions, firefighters were evacuated from the building to transition to a defense attack. As personnel was exiting the building, a Mayday was called by a firefighter on a balcony that was unable to exit via the interior. He successfully descended a ground ladder.
The fire circumvented the fire wall and eventually made it’s way into the adjacent building which sustained heavy damage to the roof and third floor. There were multiple collapses of the original building.
Palatine Tower 85, Buffalo Grove Tower 25, and Arlington Heights Tower 1 all deployed master streams.
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
#1 by Drew Smith on March 21, 2023 - 12:04 PM
Ironically, Fire Engineering published my article on these very fires in the March edition which arrived in many mailboxes yesterday. I was happy to have Steve Redick and Tim Olk’s photos used to illustrate certain points. As BMurphy points out, there are these very complexes sprinkled throughout Chicagoland and beyond.
#2 by BMurphy on March 21, 2023 - 7:48 AM
Excellent post-fire pictures in the Daily Herald that clearly illustrate my earlier comments:
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20230320/everything-was-left-behind-palatine-residents-return-to-scene-of-devastating-condo-fire
#3 by BMurphy on March 20, 2023 - 10:35 PM
This exact building design is present at identical apartment complexes throughout the suburbs and beyond. Few, if any, are sprinklered. The only construction variation is the presence of brick or block fire separation/division walls extending through cocklofts, and exterior walls of the same which extend up to at least the underside of roof decks, closing off openings behind mansards which would otherwise allow fire to extend into cockloft spaces. Unfortunately, these features are dependent upon local building codes and are few and far between.
One of the largest habitational building fires ever in the suburbs occurred in Prospect Heights in 2018 in a building of this very type. This incident is an excellent study in building fires occurring in poorly-built and non-protected structures. It’s worth a review (posts are archived on this website). In addition, a similar fire in West Chicago is another significant example.
Takeaways from these fires should include insistence of proper smoke/fire detection (monitored), fire prevention code enforcement (prohibition of grills on balconies, self-closing unit entry doors, etc.), FD fire company inspection and familiarization, knowledge of building construction deficiencies and means of fire spread/travel, and the development of response and suppression tactics, and the necessary training, to more effectively combat these fires.
#4 by John on March 20, 2023 - 8:22 PM
Mansard roof=firetrap