Palatine (IL) firefighters responded for a report of smoke on the third floor of an apartment building at 12 E Dundee Quarter late Sunday afternoon (3-19-23).  Palatine police officers reported smoke and then flames from the roof and the response was upgraded to a Code 4 working fire.

Palatine crews made an interior attack with two lines on the third floor and performed searches of the building. Unable to get ahead of the volume of fire overhead and in the mansard roof in addition to deteriorating conditions, firefighters were evacuated from the building to transition to a defense attack. As personnel was exiting the building, a Mayday was called by a firefighter on a balcony that was unable to exit via the interior. He successfully descended a ground ladder.

The fire circumvented the fire wall and eventually made it’s way into the adjacent building which sustained heavy damage to the roof and third floor. There were multiple collapses of the original building.

Palatine Tower 85, Buffalo Grove Tower 25, and Arlington Heights Tower 1 all deployed master streams.