Photos by Fire Chief David Traiforos of the Franklin Park Fire Department…

Shortly before the Denny’s restaurant in Harwood Heights was set for it’s grand opening, on May 10, 1982, a construction worker’s torch ignited a blaze that destroyed the fledging eatery. The wiring work started the blaze, which workers tried to initially control, and it spread throughout the structure which was already furnished for customers. The township fire service at that time did not use 911, and there were additional delays in response as a result. No one was injured, and Denny’s was rebuilt and exists at that site to this day. Fires like this one highlight issues such as 911 service and allow corrections to improve our service to the community. This was shown at another fire at the same location over two decades later, in which an electrical fire was located and extinguished quickly by responding companies despite icy and freezing weather, with minimal property damage and no injuries. In the second case an automatic fire alarm notified 911 automatically at the first sign of trouble