Kitchen fire in NIU apartment complex displaces four DeKalb residents

DeKALB – Four DeKalb residents are without a home after a cooking fire Wednesday that fire officials said started in a kitchen inside Northern Illinois University’s Northern View Apartments.

Two apartments – one on an upper level and another below it – were deemed uninhabitable, fire officials said.

As a result, NIU displaced the residents because of the damages from the fire, estimated to be $3,600, according to a news release from the DeKalb Fire Department.

No injuries to residents or firefighters were reported.

DeKalb fire officials responded to reports of an apartment fire shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday in the first block of Northern View Circle, the address of the NIU housing complex.

When crews arrived, they didn’t see any flames showing, but reported an evacuation of the building was already in progress.

When crews entered the apartment, they discovered smoke in the unit and a fire in the bathroom, where the building’s sprinkler system had activated, the release states.

Fire officials said the fire started on the stovetop in the kitchen, and the material on fire had been moved to the bathroom. The sprinkler system extinguished the fire, officials said.

The building was ventilated, and crews looked for any additional occupants, issuing an all-clear of the space. Crews remained on the scene for about 45 minutes.

Fire investigators determined the cooking fire was accidental in nature.

NIU police assisted in the call response.