Solvent-soaked rags were determined to be the cause of a Forest Park blaze with no injuries that started in an uninhabited two-flat in the 900 block of Dunlop around 2 a.m., Sunday morning, Fire Chief Steve Glinke said.
“Workers were refinishing the floors and they had discarded some polyurethane-soaked rags in a bucket,” Glinke said, adding “Linseed oil and other [floor finishes] tend to self-heat in enclosed spaces.”
The building had been purchased by an investor and was being remodeled, he noted.
The fire was reported around 2 a.m. Assisting firefighters from River Forest, North Riverside, Oak Park, Maywood, Cicero and Berwyn helped fight the blaze. The fire was struck around 3:30 a.m., Glinke said.
