Car and Garage Totaled in Fire

Fire broke out in a detached garage of a home on the 5500 block of West Oakdale Avenue on Tuesday evening, destroying the garage and a car parked inside.

Oak Lawn Fire Chief George Sheets said that the first call came in around 9:58 p.m. When fire crews rolled up on the scene, flames had overtaken the garage.

Sheets said there were no injuries and that the fire did not reach the house.

“It was fully involved,” Sheets said. “Everything was under control in about 15 minutes, but the garage and car are a total loss.”

The homeowner, Samantha Konopko, told Patch that she was asleep in bed when she was awakened by popping noises.

“I opened my eyes a little bit and saw light,” Konopko said. “I ran to the window and immediately found my phone and called 911.”

Konopko ran out of the house after she found her cat, Hank.

“I couldn’t find him so I was freaking out,” she said, holding the orange tabby. “He was sleeping with me and when I got up he ran away.”

Eventually, she found the cat hiding under her bed. By the time she got outside, fire crews had already arrived.

“The response here was amazing,” she said. “If this had to happen, I’m glad it happened here where [the fire department] is so efficient.”

In addition to the fire, crews also had to contend with a downed electrical line behind Konopko’s garage and a broken water main.

The fire chief said the cause of the fire is still under investigation and that investigators were on their way to the scene.