Wilmette firefighters doused a morning garage fire with the help of fire crews from three neighboring communities, but the blaze destroyed the building and one of two cars stored there, department officials said.
About 18 Wilmette, Glenview, Northfield, and Winnetka firefighters responded to the fire on the 2100 block of Schiller Avenue south of Lake Avenue on Aug. 30, Deputy Chief Robert Brill said, with Wilmette’s department units arriving three minutes after the 9:22 a.m. 911 call came in to dispatchers. Brill said he did not know who called the report in.
Fire had broken through the roof of the four-bay garage by the time firefighters arrived, he said, and it took between 35 and 40 minutes to put out the flames.
“There were no injuries, and there was nobody inside. There were two vehicles inside. One was saved, and one was not,” Brill said.
Brill said a fence between the garage and one neighboring property was charred, but damage to two garages on either side of the burning building was limited to smoke stains.
He said damage to the affected garage was estimated at more than $10,000, and said the cause of the fire is still undetermined.
Fire Chief Ben Wozney said his department condemned the remaining structure because it was unstable.
