Boston Market in Park Ridge closed after attic blaze

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Park Ridge firefighters responded to a small attic fire at Boston Market, 800 W. Devon Ave. in Park Ridge on Jan. 14. No injuries were reported. | Allen Kaleta~for Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 20, 2012 8:39AM

A small morning fire Jan. 14 forced the closure of the Boston Market restaurant in Park Ridge for several days while cleanup took place.

The fire was discovered about 8:30 a.m. Jan. 14 in the attic of the restaurant, at 800 W. Devon Ave. The exact cause of the fire was not immediately determined, but was not believed to be suspicious, according to Park Ridge Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Sorensen.

No injuries were reported.

According to the Fire Department a restaurant employee called 911 after she discovered smoke coming from the attic shortly after arriving at work. When firefighters arrived at the scene smoke was seen coming from an exterior vent on the south end of the building and an investigation revealed a fire in the attic space above a large walk-in cooler, the Fire Department said.

The fire was contained to the attic and extinguished within about 20 minutes of the fire crew’s arrival, according to fire officials. The fire did not spread to the restaurant area below or to an adjacent business.

Damage was estimated at about $25,000 and consisted of structural damage, cleaning costs and the value of discarded food items. Boston Market remained closed through the weekend and into early this week as cleanup and repairs took place.

The Sorensen said the timing of the fire’s discovery kept the extent of the damage low.

“We got lucky that an employee of Boston Market had arrived early,” he said. “(The fire) probably could have smoldered for another couple of hours and really gotten ahead of us. Fortunately, we got it pretty early.”

The attic houses the restaurant’s heating, air conditioning and electrical equipment, Sorensen said.

Park Ridge firefighters received assistance at the scene from the Rosemont and Norwood Park fire departments.