Unattended Cooking Believed to be Cause of Apartment Fire in Elgin

Unattended cooking left on a stove is believed to be the cause of a fire that broke out in an apartment building Wednesday evening in Elgin.

Firefighters were called to the apartment complex in the 700 block of West Highland for an automatic fire alarm at 6:35 p.m. When fire crews arrived, they found a moderate amount of smoke on the fourth floor with smoke coming from an apartment, according to a fire department press release.

It was quickly determined the sprinkler in the apartment had activated and extinguished the fire that was located in the kitchen.

A total of seven Elgin fire companies responded to the scene. There were no civilian or fire department injuries sustained during the incident, fire officials said.

The cause of the fire was determined to be unattended cooking on a stove using grease. Total damage was estimated to be approximately $5,000.

The Elgin Fire Department would like to remind its citizens to never leave food cooking unattended on a stove.