Chimney Fire in La Grange Park Caught by Alert Neighbor

A La Grange Park resident acted quickly on Sunday night when noticing a neighbor's chimney on fire on the 800 block of Kensington Avenue in La Grange Park on Sunday night, alerting the house's residents and the La Grange Park Fire Department in time to ensure that the fire would not spread.

The resident saw heavy smoke and flames coming from the chimney at around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, and quickly brought it to the homeowners' attention; the latter had started a fire in their fireplace just a few minutes earlier.

“They did hear some unique noises coming from the chimney, but they didn’t realize it was actually on fire until the neighbor alerted them," said La Grange Park fire chief Dean Maggos.

Maggos said that the fire was caused by the ignition of a buildup of creosote inside the chimney.

The Department originally recieved a report that the fire had spread to the roof of the home, but in truth it never left the chimney and eventually extinguished itself. Chimney fires do, however, often have the potential to spread into greater house fires, Maggos said.

He also added that the incident illustrates the value both of being an alert neighbor and of keeping your chimney clean and inspected.

"If you get it cleaned, you’re much less likely to have a fire, and if it’s inspected and they find problems, especially in older chimneys, they can correct those before you do have a fire," Maggos said.

The damage of the fire has not yet been estimated.