Fire At La Grange Park Apartment Complex: Authorities

LA GRANGE Park, IL – La Grange Park firefighters put out a fire early Wednesday evening in an apartment at a senior living complex, according to a news release.

About 5:30 p.m., the fire department was called to the six-story Bethlehem Woods complex. Firefighters said they discovered a fire in an unoccupied second-floor unit.

A single fire sprinkler nearly put out the fire, according to the news release. It was completely put out with a hand-held water fire extinguisher.

"This fire is a testament to the vital role fire sprinklers play in protecting lives and property, and in this case, our older adults. The first notification to firefighters of any problem at the facility came from the fire sprinkler system, tied to the automatic fire alarm," Fire Chief Dean Maggos said in the news release. "In fact, most of the tenants of the building were not initially aware that a fire had even actually occurred"

No one was reported injured. Most of the building's tenants were allowed to remain in their apartments, the fire department said.

The fire's cause is under investigation.