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No One Was Harmed in this Tremendous Blaze at 248 Lake Street in Oak Park
photo by Dave Grossklaus

report by Ed Vincent

Video of the Fire and the Day After

On Tuesday (September 25, 2007)a car was put onto a hydraulic
lift and raised to examine a small gas leak. The crew was looking to find the leak and perhaps replace a suspected fuel pump. The fumes from the gas gathered, and with the car so near the ceiling of the shop a power tool or other item gave a spark and that's all that it took to ignite the roof and with
all of the flammable material in the garage the fuel for the flames was quickly doing its job as the fire spread rapidly.
This all happened about noon and fire department and
police arrived promptly, right after the alarms were sounded.

There are two buildings next to the garage and they are only a
few feet away from the inferno that was raging. The apartment
building to the west had no one living on the top floor, it was
being renovated. When the fire department arrived they quickly checked on any residents in the surrounding structures and then also went to work on the fire to prevent its spreading and to quell its effect. All people at home were evacuated and their apartments secured.

248 Lake Street in Oak Park is Brought Under Control Quickly.
photos by Dave Grossklaus

The fire started on the west side of the building and that is the
side that is nearest the apartment building. Oak Park Fire
Chief William Bell when interviewed, was proud of the fine job
that the firefighters did in minimizing the damage to the garage
and the surrounding structures, he also noted that the smoke
damage was kept to a minimum from the large quantity of
water that the firefighters applied to the area and the fortuitous direction of the winds-which were from the west during the battle.

There was plenty of smoke during this fire and smoke damage
has kept many residents from their homes for months at a time
while things are repaired just from the destruction wrought by
smoke invasion.

The Day After at 248 Lake Street in Oak Park
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo

The buildings are secure and the owner hopes that they will be back in business within a month. The damage to the nearby
buildings was little, if any and no one was displaced-thanks to
quick response of the firefighters.