Update 1:10 p.m: Evanston fire units were called to Oakton Elementary School this morning after a microwave oven caught fire in the teacher’s lounge shortly before 8:30 a.m.
Fire Division Chief Dwight Hohl says teachers managed to put out the fire before fire crews arrived, but one teacher suffered burns to his hands while doing so and walked to nearby St. Francis Hospital for treatment.
Hohl says it appears the microwave oven malfunctioned and shorted out to start the blaze.
He says students didn’t have to be evacuated from the building but firefighters spent some time ventilating the area around the lounge to get smoke out of the air.
