Fire Crews Battle Overnight Roof Fire At Oak Lawn Pizzeria

OAK LAWN, IL — A popular Oak Lawn pizzeria caught on fire early Tuesday morning when high winds snapped a power line that sparked a blaze on the building’s roof.

Oak Lawn firefighters responded around 12:47 a.m. at Grassano’s Pizza, 5651 W. 87th St., Oak Lawn.

When firefighters arrived, downed power lines had set the roofing membrane on fire. Assistant Fire Chief Scott Boman, of the Oak Lawn Fire Department, said fire crews waited until they were sure that power had been cut off before they started putting water on the flames.

“We wanted to confirm that the power was off,” Boman said. “We called ComEd to report the downed lines and were given an estimated time of arrival of unknown.”

A passing ComEd truck on its way to another call saw the severity of the situation and changed its call to remain on the scene at Grassano’s.

Video by Todd Sherman | Northern Illinois Fireground

The ComEd worker was able to cut the power to the building so that firefighters could begin spraying down the roof.

“We were very lucky with ComEd’s response,” Boman said. “There was a possibility we would have lost the roof of the building had we waited for ComEd to get here. Everything worked out for us with the timing.”

Gino Grassano, owner of the pizzeria, arrived at the restaurant after an employee who lives nearby called to tell him his business was on fire. Grassano has been at the location since 2003 and had recently poured thousands of dollars into remodeling the restaurant.

“It was all new equipment,” Grassano said. “Nobody was in there. The restaurant had already closed.”

While standing in the rain watching fire crew extinguish the fire, Grassano said the restaurant’s interior security cameras were still operating and showed little damage inside the business.

“It doesn’t look that bad,” the restaurant owner said. “I don’t think the building has much damage.”

Boman said the restaurant should be able to stay open, confirming that the restaurant’s interior had sustained little damage.

“We did pull some ceiling tiles down to confirm that there was no fire inside,” the assistant fire chief said.

The high winds also tipped over a light pole at 88th Street and Ridgeland.

Photos by Todd Sherman | Northern Illinois Fireground