Crime & Safety

Palatine Police Rescue Man From Burning Home

The Palatine Police Department helped a man in a wheel chair evacuate his home during a fire early Tuesday morning.

The helped a man in a wheelchair escape his burning home early Tuesday morning.

The received a call at about 4:21 a.m. of a fire in a home in the 1700 block of North Jarvis Court.

"There was only one person there," Palatine Fire Battalion Chief Patrick Gratzianna said. "The resident called and said there was a fire in the bed and he was trying to put water on the mattress."

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Gratzianna said the resident was in his 40s. Smoking in bed was the likely cause of the fire, he added. The caller told dispatchers he was trapped in the home.

Gratzianna said that three Palatine police officers arrived on the scene within five minutes of the call, entered the home and were able to help the man out of the home and onto the front porch. He said the bedroom had not been fully engulfed when officers arrived.

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"This could have been bad, but we were able to catch it in its infancy," Gratzianna said.

The resident was treated for minor smoke inhalation and transported to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

The fire damage was estimated at $8,500. Gratzianna said 23 firefighters from Palatine and Arlington Heights answered the call.


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