Child and Nanny Escape Basement Fire on Dempster

A nanny and seven-year-old child safely escaped a fire that broke out in the basement of an Evanston home Monday afternoon.

The nanny heard the smoke detector go off shortly before 5 p.m. and smelled smoke inside the single-family home at 1713 Dempster St., according to a press release from Evanston Fire Division Chief Dwight Hohl. She left the home with the child and called 9-11. 

Firefighters responded to the scene at approximately 4:39 p.m. and searched the home for other residents. No one else was found inside, and firefighters extinguished the fire, which originated in a clothes dryer and the attached cabinets. 

“Thanks in part to working smoke detectors, the quick thinking of the nanny and the fast response of our fire personnel in bringing the incident under control with minimal damage to property and no report of injury,” Hohl said in the release.