Palatine Fire Department Tower 18 stands by the east side of 502 E. Northwest Highway where a garage door is seen ripped after explosion and fire at Expert Auto Repair.
One person was killed and extensive damage occurred to Expert Auto Repair, an auto repair garage, at 502 East Northwest Highway in Palatine [MAP/SAT] around noon on Thursday. Mike Kipnis, 40, of Lake Zurich, and owner of Expert Auto Repair, was apparently killed as he was trapped by a collapsed wall and burning flooring. Fire departments from Arlington Heights, Barrington-Countryside, Long Grove, Mount Prospect, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, and Wood Dale assisted Palatine Fire Department. Two ladder trucks were used to attack the fire from overhead.
Arlington Heights Fire Department ambulance standing by at the scene of an explosion and fire at an auto repair shop next door to Allied Air Conditioning and Heating at 500 East Northwest Highway in Palatine.
Firefighters regroup on the west side of Expert Auto Repair and Allied Air Conditioning and Heating where they fought a fire for about one hour Thursday around noon.
— mb