Plainfield and neighboring fire departments battle office blaze

Plainfield — The Plainfield Fire Protection District responded to a fire about 5 a.m. Wednesday in the 12500 block of Rhea Drive in unincorporated Plainfield.

Firefighters arrived on the scene after a fire alarm was triggered in the commercial building and discovered smoke and “heavy fire conditions” in the southern end of the structure.

Plainfield Fire Chief Vito Bonomo said crews extinguished the majority of the flames in about 20 minutes but continued to battle hot spots on the second floor for an hour.

The fire was elevated to a MABAS box alarm, which brought out additional crews and resources from neighboring fire departments.

“The size of the building was a concern,” Bonomo said. “We wanted extra assistance to search and overhaul the building and move everything that needed to be moved to finish putting out those hot spots.”

About 60 firefighters were on the scene, including crews from the Aurora, Bolingbrook, Lockport, Naperville, Oswego, Troy and Romeoville fire departments. Station coverage was provided by the Morris Fire Protection District, Homer Fire Protection District, Northwest Homer Fire Protection District and the Minooka Fire Protection District. Plainfield Emergency Management also responded to the scene to assist with firefighter rehab.

The building was empty at the time of the fire and no injuries were suffered by civilians or fire department personnel, although the building sustained structural and smoke damage. Bonomo said the Will County Building Department will inspect the structure Wednesday and determine if it is partially or entirely uninhabitable.

“We’d like to emphasize that this fire was not called in by anyone,” Bonomo said. “We responded to a fire alarm, which went off, which proves how important early detection is for commercial buildings in these situations.”

There were no sprinklers in the building. The cause of the fire is under investigation.