Excerpts from the dailyherald.com:
Prospect Heights Fire Chief Drew Smith recalls that the apartment fire that occurred last Monday night in Mount Prospect, which displaced around 100 residents, had a layout nearly identical to a 2018 fire in Prospect Heights. That earlier incident took place at the River Trails Condominium complex and resulted in the destruction of 24 units, with 72 more damaged, leaving many families without a home.
What connects these fires—and several other major apartment blazes across the suburbs since 2018—is the presence of mansard-style roofs. These roofs were popular with builders during the 1960s and 1970s because they provided extra living space on the top floor. However, they pose a serious challenge for firefighters, as they can hide flames from water, making it harder to control the fire effectively.
“Unfortunately, the reality is that until the fire burns through the roof, the water can’t get on the fire,†said Smith. “By that time, it’s just too late.â€
Similar incidents have occurred in recent years, including a devastating fire at Windhaven Condominiums in Palatine in 2023, which left 22 units uninhabitable. In West Chicago, the Puente Del Pueblo apartments faced a similar fate last year, displacing about 100 people. And in 2022, a fire at Bristol Court in Park Ridge injured five residents and made an entire 36-unit building unsafe to live in.
Last week’s fire at the Orion Parkview Apartments in Mount Prospect began in the cockloft of a 36-unit building. The intense heat made it impossible for firefighters to approach the blaze from inside, forcing them to switch to a defensive strategy from the outside.
Unlike the common areas below, the attic did not have sprinklers installed, and the mansard roof blocked water from reaching the spreading flames.
Named after 17th-century French architect François Mansart, the mansard roof was originally designed for French homes. It features a distinctive double-sloped roof, often covered with shingles and featuring recessed windows. While this style fell out of favor in the U.S. after the 1970s, many buildings with these roofs still stand in suburban neighborhoods today.
Chief Smith wrote a detailed report on a 2006 fire at River Trails, the same complex that was later damaged in 2018, for *Fire Engineering*. His report highlighted how quickly fire and smoke can spread within the mansard roof structure.
“During overhaul and the investigation, you could look into the mansard from the third-floor inside corner apartment and see it run the length of the building without a fire stop,†he wrote.
The most effective solution is to install sprinklers, but retrofitting attics with them after construction is complete is both difficult and expensive. As a result, many older buildings remain vulnerable to these types of fires, especially those with mansard-style roofs.
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