No Injuries In Fire At LW North

Frankfort IL

22 September, 2021

12:23 PM

Description

By Jon DePaolis, Richard Free Press: FRANKFORT, Ill. — The Frankfort Fire Protection District is investigating what caused a basement fire at Lincoln-Way North on Monday, Sept. 20, but malfunctioning batteries may be the culprit. According to a social media post to its Facebook page on Sept. 21, firefighters responded to an automatic fire alarm at around 8:17 p.m. at the former school, located at 19900 S. Harlem Ave. in Frankfort. "Upon entry into the secured building, crews encountered a burning odor," the Facebook post reads. "The fire alarm system indicated a water flow alarm. Upon further investigation, a fire was discovered in the basement. The alarm was escalated to a structure fire response, which brought in additional resources. "Several industrial batteries had malfunctioned and appear to have caused the fire. The fire was not allowed to spread from the room of origin due to the building's automatic sprinkler system activating. Extinguishment was delayed due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide, which is a byproduct of burning batteries. A large ventilation truck was requested to the scene to ventilate the building. Crews monitored the hydrogen sulfide levels." There were no injuries in the incident, but damage was estimated to be in the range of $5,000 to $10,000, according to the Facebook post. Richard Free Press is a one-stop destination for the news that most affects you, the southwest suburban resident. Be an informed citizen of the town you live in and love.