Firefighters found a man deceased and rescued a second person after finding an apartment building with flames and smoke coming from it in Waukegan early Thursday morning.
The Waukegan Fire Department responded around 5:45 a.m. Thursday to the 800 block of Grand Avenue in Waukegan for a report of a structure fire.
Waukegan Fire Marshal Todd Zupec said dispatchers received several 911 calls reporting smoke and fire in an apartment building.
Firefighters arrived on the scene to find flames and heavy smoke coming from the rear of a first-floor apartment.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the box alarm level for additional fire departments from surrounding communities to respond.
Zupec said the structure is a two-story, four-unit apartment building.
Crews began working to extinguish the fire and evacuate the occupants.
Firefighters assisted one person from a second-floor window using ground ladders.
Zupec said a search of the apartment where the fire originated resulted in firefighters locating an adult male victim deceased in a bedroom.
No other injuries were reported from the fire.
The other apartments in the building were not damaged by the fire.
“Smoke detectors were key in alerting the other tenants of the building. We would like to remind residents to check and test their smoke alarms monthly,” Zupec said.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office has not released the identity of the male victim yet.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Waukegan Police Department, Waukegan Fire Department and the Lake County Coroner’s Office.