The Plainfield Fire Protection District recently responded to several structure fires. On May 30th just before midnight a structure fire broke out in the 100 block of Teeway Street in unincorporated Joliet. A resident awoke and smelled smoke and when they opened the bedroom door were confronted with heat and smoke in the hallway and escaped the home through the bedroom window. After escaping the home the resident ran around the other side of the house where another family member was trapped and yelling for help. With the assistance of a neighbor they were able to pull down part of a wooden fence to get to the window and remove an air conditioner and assist the other resident out of the window. Upon arrival firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the house and brought the fire under control in 30 minutes. CPR was attempted on the family dogs however both dogs perished. The residents were treated on the scene for smoke inhalation but refused transportation to the hospital. One firefighter was transported to the hospital for a medical problem and was treated and released. The Plainfield Fire Protection District was assisted by the Lockport Fire Protection District. The cause of the fire is under investigation and the home is uninhabitable. Plainfield was assisted by the following fire departments/districts: Aurora Township, Channahon, Lemont, Minooka, Naperville, Oswego, Romeoville and Troy.
On June 5th at 9:30 PM in the 17600 block of Richmond Road a neighbor called 9-1-1 for a gazebo on fire. Upon arrival firefighters found a fire on the roof and an overhang of the gazebo and extinguished the fire within 10 minutes. During overhaul firefighters found arching wires in the area of the gazebo and power was disconnected to the gazebo. There were no injuries and the fire was contained to the gazebo. Plainfield Fire was assisted by the Troy Fire Protection District.
On June 13th at 3:00 PM in the 2400 block of Burbank Street in unincorporated Joliet a resident came home and upon opening the door encountered heavy smoke and heat. The resident immediately shut the door and called 9-1-1. Upon arrival firefighters found a small fire in the living room that was extinguished in a few minutes. The original fire had almost snuffed itself out. There were no injuries. The home is uninhabitable due to heavy smoke damage. The cause of the fire was determined to be from an unattended candle. Plainfield Fire was assisted by the Lockport Fire Protection District.
On June 14th at 2:45 PM in the 2400 block of Helmar Lane in unincorporated Joliet a neighbor called 9-1-1 after noticing a fire on the exterior of a home. Upon arrival firefighters found a neighbor using a garden hose on the fire to keep it from spreading. Firefighters extinguished the fire and had to force entry into the home to check for fire extension of the fire into the home. There was no fire extension inside the home and there were no injuries. The cause of the fire was determined to be misuse of smoking materials. Plainfield Fire was assisted by the Lockport Fire Protection District.
The Plainfield Fire Protection District asks that every household have a home fire escape plan, have a home fire drill, know two ways out of every room and have a family meeting place outside. Make sure you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home and inside of bedrooms. Sleep with bedroom doors closed. Practice safe use and storage of smoking materials and never leave candles unattended. For a brief video outlining details for creating a home fire escape plan visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khyHziYGFZg&list=PL62RdU8F0s8EKgXp1dx3NdJKr31723Tsr&index=13&t=0s. For more information on smoking safety visit https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Top-fire-causes/Smoking. For more information on candle safety visit https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Top-fire-causes/Candles. For additional information please call the Plainfield Fire Protection District at 815-436-5335 or visit our website at www.PlainfieldFPD.org.