1 hurt, others displaced when senior site in Tinley Park burns

A fire in a first-floor unit of a senior apartment building in Tinley Park left one person injured and displaced others, according to fire Chief Steve Klotz.

One woman was rescued by firefighters from her apartment, where the fire began in a living room and was contained to one room of the unit, he said.

Apart from the one unit damaged by fire, three other apartments were uninhabitable because of smoke damage, he said.

The call of an activated fire alarm was received at 5:15 p.m. Monday at Hanover Place, 16851 S. Harlem Ave., and when firefighters arrived they observed smoke and residents were being evacuated, Klotz said.

The woman was rescued from her apartment by firefighters and she was taken to the hospital, suffering smoke inhalation and minor burns, he said.

A second resident was also taken to the hospital, but that was not directly related to the fire, Klotz said.

The cause of the fire had not yet been determined but was not suspicious, he said.

He said that 92 people were medically checked and cleared before being allowed back into the apartment building.

Firefighters from Country Club Hills, Flossmoor, Frankfort, Mokena and Orland Park also assisted, and apart from additional firefighting equipment, several ambulances from those departments assisted, Klotz said.

He said more ambulances had been summoned because it was not immediately clear how many people might need to be treated or transported, and having the additional medical personnel was valuable in evaluating residents.

Klotz said that due to the building’s sprinkler system, the fire was contained to one room of the apartment, and that “it all worked out very well.”

“If this building had not been equipped with that it would have been a much bigger fire and more victims,” he said.