Candle Causes La Grange Park Basement Fire on Friday

A basement fire on the 1500 block of Maple Avenue in La Grange Park was reported to the at 7:01 p.m. on Friday night, with crews on the scene by 7:04 p.m.

The occupants of the house were on the first floor when they noticed smoke coming from a furnace vent and left the home. Upon arrival, firefighters noticed smoke coming from the basement.

The initial fire officer on the scene deployed a fire suppressant in the basement using one of the village's Dry Sprinkler Powdered Aerosol (DSPA) devices. The devices work like a fire extinguisher and are designed to be thrown into a fire.

December. They are carried in the La Grange Park fire chief and duty officer's vehicles, as well as both ambulances to be used if the vehicle arrives prior to the Village's engine trucks.

According to the department, the device allowed the fire to be nearly extinguished by the time the pumper truck arrived two minutes later and firefighters ran a hose line to the basement to fully extinguish it.

The department said it believes an unattended candle that melted down and caught fire to items around it caused the fire. No one was injured and the damage was estimated at $2,500.