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Family Escapes Inferno In Second Floor Home

PARK RIDGE, Ill. (STMW) -- Working smoke detectors are credited for alerting a Park Ridge family to a fire that started in a bedroom where two children were reportedly sleeping.

The fire was reported at 4:45 a.m. Saturday in a two-story, single family home on the 200 block of North Chester Avenue. According to the Park Ridge Fire Department all five occupants of the home, which included two adults and three children, escaped safely and were outside when firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported.

The fire was contained to the second-story bedroom, where it originated, though smoke damage was reported throughout the second floor and some water damage also occurred, the Fire Department reported. The department has estimated damage at about $75,000.

Firefighters from the Rosemont and Niles fire departments assisted.

Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Sorensen said investigators suspect the fire was the result of an electrical problem and have pinpointed the origin to an outlet a space heater was plugged into. Further investigation was expected to determine whether the outlet was faulty or overloaded due to the space heater, he said.

The home's smoke detectors were working properly and alerted the family to the fire, Sorensen said.

"It could have been a tragedy if the smoke detectors weren't there," he said.

This is the second early-morning house fire reported this month in Park Ridge. On Jan. 2 a family of six was awoken by their home's smoke detectors after a fire broke out in their basement on the 100 block of Stanley Avenue.

© Sun-Times Media Wire Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

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