Scene of a house fire on Pine Avenue that was quickly held back by police and stopped by firefighters Wednesday morning, March 4, 2026 (CARDINAL NEWS). YouTube Tips ⓘ
Police, firefighters and paramedics from Arlington Heights responded about 7:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 4, 2026 to a report of a house fire in the block of 200 North Pine Avenue in Arlington Heights.
The residence is currently owned and occupied by an active member of the Arlington Heights Fire Department and their family, and the firefighter was on duty at the time of the fire.
Arlington Heights police officers were the first to arrive on the scene and observed heavy smoke coming from the rear of the building. The first-arriving officer confirmed that all occupants had safely exited the home. Since the interior smoke conditions allowed visibility, the officer entered the structure and attempted to extinguish the fire with a portable fire extinguisher, but was unsuccessful and then exited unharmed.
Arlington Heights Fire Department crews arrived within three minutes of dispatch and immediately upgraded the response to a Code 4 “Working Fire” response for a fire in the kitchen.
Firefighters encountered heavy interior smoke conditions as they rapidly deployed a hose line to the kitchen and initiated suppression efforts. Additional crews conducted a thorough search of the premises and confirmed that there were no remaining occupants. The fire was contained to the kitchen area and did not extend beyond a small butler pantry.
According to the occupants, the fire started when a toaster oven caught fire while breakfast was being prepared. The family member initially attempted to extinguish the flames, but when this was unsuccessful, the family member quickly evacuated the residence and called 9-1-1. All residents were able to escape unharmed.
The Arlington Heights Fire Department was assisted at the scene by firefighter crews from the Mount Prospect Fire Department and Prospect Heights Fire District. Arlington Heights Fire Station coverage was provided by fire departments from Schaumburg, Wheeling, and Glenview Fire Departments. An out of town Fire/EMS crew responded to an EMS call at a residence on Wing Street west of the downtown Jewel-Osco while fire operations were underway on Pine Avenue.
According to the Arlington Heights Fire Department, the cause of the fire is under investigation by members of the Arlington Heights Fire and Police Fire Investigation Team.
Stay informed with news from The Cardinal’s Emergencies Behind the Scenes Facebook page — Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies. Includes links to favorite public safety and emergency rescuers and product manufacturers and safety companies that have facebook pages. Submit your pictures or just stay up-to-date on with fire, rescue, EMS and police photo galleries. Please add your public safety photo to the wall album — go direct to the Arlington Cardinal Emergencies Behind the Scenes photos. For a list of all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages, go to Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
