La Grange Park, IL – Fire in laser cutting area of manufacturing facility extinguished by single sprinkler

***Fire Department Release *** At 10:31 a.m. on Thursday morning, the La Grange Park FireĀ  Department was dispatched to an activated fire alarm at a manufacturing facility located at 1245 Barnsdale Rd. No call was received from the facility. Upon the fire department’s arrival at 10:37 a.m., the building’s fire alarm was sounding, the building was partially evacuated, and smoke was coming from overhead dock doors. Upon further investigation, it was noted that a fire had occurred in a laser cutting area. Employees in the area initially attempted to fight the fire with fire extinguishers, and then a single fire sprinkler operated and completely extinguished the fire. Firefighters checked for fire extension, cut electricity to the affected area, and shut down the fire sprinkler system. One employee who was in the area where the fire started and who helped to initially fight the fire, was treated by paramedics and transported to Adventist La Grange Hospital. The fire appears to have started when plastic being cut by a laser overheated, and plastic dust and hoses in the ventilation system ignited. The building and contents are valued at several million dollars, but damage at this time appears to be limited to $5,000.00. The employees should be commended for their initial actions, and the limited amount of damage to the overall business can be directly attributed to a properly operating fire sprinkler system,” according to Fire Chief Dean J. Maggos. Further damage to equipment in the immediate area is still being assessed. La Grange Firefighters assisted by La Grange Park Firefighters at the incident.