A west suburban state senator is waiting for fire authorities to allow him back into his Downers Grove office, which was damaged by a two-alarm fire early Monday.
Firefighters responded at 1:46 a.m. to a blaze at a two-story brick building in the 1100 block of Warren Avenue in Downers Grove and found thick smoke and “extensive” fire coming from the roof, according to a release from the Downers Grove Fire Department.
State Sen. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) said the entire second floor -- including his office -- suffered smoke, fire and water damage.
"Tough start to the day," Sandack wrote on his Twitter page. "Rec’d call @ 3:15 a.m. that the building where my legislative office is housed had a major fire. Could be total loss."
The two-alarm fire caused part of the roof to collapse, forcing firefighters to leave the building and fight the blaze from outside, the release said. The blaze was extinguished at 4:32 a.m.
Sandack said Monday evening that fire officials are still concerned about a total roof collapse, and he will not be allowed into the building until a cooling system is removed and it is deemed safe to go inside.
“I’m worried that everything is destroyed and we lost constituent files and information on other important matters,” Sandack said.
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Nobody was inside the building when the fire started and no injuries were reported, the fire department said.
“It’s all property and we can rebuild. Nobody was hurt and that is the most important thing,” Sandack said. “If everything is destroyed, we can rebuild and forge ahead.”
The building did not have a sprinkler system and was not connected to the village’s alarm board, the release said. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Sandack said.
The Downers Grove Fire Department received help from departments in Lombard, Argonne, Hinsdale, Oak Brook Terrace, Darien Woodridge, Naperville, York Center, Oak Brook, Bolingbrook and Westmont.
