Structure Fires Spike In North Palos Fire District

PALOS HILLS, IL — It has been a bad winter for fires in the North Palos Fire Protection District. Since the Christmas Day blaze at the Green Tree Condominiums, the North Palos firefighters have fought three other fires, two in 1970s-era apartment buildings converted to condos and a garage.

Late Sunday evening, a fire tore through a third floor unit at the Riviera Condominium Complex,11122 S. 84th Ave., Palos Hills. Crews arrived with flames shooting from a third-story balcony of a 12-unit building. The response was elevated to box alarm with assistance from several area fire departments, including Chicago Ridge, Bridgeview, the Roberts Park Fire District, Palos Fire District, Oak Lawn, Hometown and Alsip.

Firefighters evacuated residents from ladders and the stairwells. It took crews approximately an hour to strike the fire.

>>> Fire Displaces 12 Households At Palos Hills Condominium Complex

“The fire was confined to one unit on the third floor,” said Chief Paul Mackin, of the North Palos Fire Protection District. “The fire did get into the hall start impinging in the third floor hallway.”

Crews remained on the scene until 3 a.m. performing extensive overhaul and conducting a fire investigation, Mackin said. The building was deemed uninhabitable by the Palos Hills building commissioner. Residents from 12 units were displaced and referred to the Red Cross.

“The fire remains under investigation but does not appear to be intentional or caused by any heating appliance,” Mackin added in an email to Patch.

Another fire at an apartment building at 8433 W. Flamingo Terrace, Hickory Hills, was determined to be accidental. The fire appears to have been caused by a plumber sweating pipes in a third-floor bathroom.

A garage fire at 8738 W. 96th Place is officially listed as undetermined, however, interior security camera footage provided by the property owner shows the fire in its incipient stage, progressing from an apparent trash can the owner had used to stain rages and construction waste.

“Due to the extensive damage to the structure, we were unable to rule out other sources, such as equipment,” Mackin told Patch. “Based on an interview with the owner and the camera footage it appears to be accidental.”

Early Christmas morning, residents of Green Tree woke up to the sound of emergency lights beeping in the hallway. Residents also reported the power went out in the building before going to bed, although the electricity was on in other buildings on the property. Mackin told Patch in the days following the Green Tree fire, that it appeared to have originated from the basement utility room. The 40-unit condo conversion building was deemed uninhabitable.

“We are scheduled to participate in a joint scene examination with insurance investigators for the Green Tree Condo at 9954 84th Terrace fire this week,” the fire chief said. “At this time the cause of the fire is still undetermined with any intentional causes ruled out.”