The Oak Park apartment building engulfed by a massive fire last week had long been on village officials’ radar over a lengthy record of safety code violations, according to county court records.
The fire, one of the biggest seen in the village in recent years, came just months after Oak Park fire inspectors had warned the building owner of serious fire code violations. Legal records related to the village’s inspections of the property paint a picture of blatant safety violations and squalid conditions that fly in the face of Oak Park’s idyllic suburban reputation.
First responders from the Oak Park Fire Department and other neighboring departments responded to a structure fire at 1239 N. Taylor Ave. at approximately 8:57 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, battling the flames through the night for 10 hours straight, with firefighters remaining on scene the following day to manage “spot fires” that continued to burn on the property. No firefighters were injured during the response, which required 4 million gallons of water, according to a Feb. 20 court filing from village attorneys…