Fire Officials Deem Tinley Home Unlivable After Tuesday Blaze

A blaze ignited in a home Tuesday while a resident was lying down for a nap.

At 2:41 p.m., his neighbors were the ones to call firefighters to the two-story home at 17208 87th Court after they saw smoke billowing from the garage, Chief Ken Dunn said. The napping man awoke moments later to the sound of his two dogs barking.

"They didn't want to become hotdogs," Dunn said, noting that there were no injuries to the resident, pets or firefighters. " … We were able to search the house … and were told the occupant had narrowly gotten out."

The fire started in the home's attached garage and worked its way up to the second floor, he said, adding that its origin remains under investigation.

"There's some pretty significant damage," Dunn said, estimating about $200,000 worth. "It took about 40 minutes for us to get it fully under control."

There didn't appear to be any cars in the homes garage, he said. Crews remained on the scene monitoring for flare ups until about 4 p.m. No one can live in the home for "some time," Dunn expects.

Fire departments from Orland, Oak Forest, Mokena, Homewood, Country Club Hills, Homer and Midlothian assisted on the scene. Thornton and Crestwood crews stepped in to help man Tinley's fire stations.

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