Fire officials say one person was transported to the hospital and 14 residents were displaced following an apartment building fire Sunday evening in Crystal Lake.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department and Crystal Lake Police Department responded around 6:13 p.m. to the 500 block of Darlington Lane for a report of an activated fire alarm.
Crystal Lake Fire Chief Paul DeRaedt said someone called 911 from the complex to report a fire in an apartment.
The occupants of the apartment where the fire started were able to escape prior to the fire department’s arrival.
One occupant sustained burns while attempting to extinguish the fire and was transported by ambulance to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Huntley for treatment.
All other occupants safely evacuated the building, DeRaedt said. The building was not equipped with a fire sprinkler system.
Firefighters arrived within four minutes and found smoke coming from one of the apartments on the first floor of the two-story building.
Fire crews entered the apartment and found heavy smoke conditions and a fire in the kitchen.
A request for mutual aid through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was initiated. The fire was declared under control at 6:51 p.m.
DeRaedt said the kitchen sustained heavy fire damage and the remainder of the apartment sustained heat, smoke, and water damage.
Adjacent apartments sustained varying levels of smoke damage.
The entire eight-unit apartment building was deemed uninhabitable until cleaning and repairs can be made.
The American Red Cross and property management are assisting 14 occupants from seven apartments with temporary shelter. The eighth apartment was unoccupied.
The fire started on the kitchen stove while the occupants were heating cooking oil, DeRaedt said. There were no injuries to any firefighters.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Crystal Lake Fire Rescue was assisted by several area fire departments and the Salvation Army.
Fire investigators from the Cary and Nunda-Rural Fire Protection Districts are assisting Crystal Lake with the investigation.
Damage to the apartment is estimated at $70,000.