Van Fire Totals Vehicle; Snarls Traffic in Palatine

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A van fire near the corner of Rand Road and Frontage Road in Palatine snarled traffic Thursday afternoon.
Palatine Fire Department firefighters were called to the area at 1:25 p.m. by the owner of the vehicle. He had gone into the convenience store in the strip mall where he had parked the van and when he came back out, the van was smoking, Palatine Battallion Fire Chief Jim Conn said.
“Our concern was to be sure (fire) did not get into the building and it did not,” Conn said.

Because of the amount of fire equipment on scene, traffic in the area was brought down to one lane.
Although it took only 10 minutes to put out the fire, the van was a total loss.
“It is not suspicious,” Conn said. “We rule that out.
“It is kind of up to the insurance companies if they want to pursue it from there.”