Firefighters rescued multiple residents after a fire broke out in an apartment building in Waukegan, leaving two units uninhabitable Wednesday evening, fire officials said.
The Waukegan Fire Department and Waukegan Police Department responded around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday to the 2000 block of Washington Street for a report of a structure fire.
Fire crews arrived and found residents in the process of evacuating, according to Waukegan Fire Department Fire Marshal Todd Zupec.
A fire was located on the lower level of the four-story apartment building.
Crews began an aggressive interior attack to extinguish the fire, Zupec said.
Several other fire crews began searching the remaining floors and apartments for anyone who was trapped.
The call was upgraded through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) to the box alarm level due to the size of the building and the possibility of multiple victims.
Zupec said heavy smoke was reported in the hallways of the building and multiple residents were in need of assistance.
Firefighters rescued or evacuated multiple occupants through windows via fire department ladders.
“The crews did an excellent job extinguishing the fire and evacuating the occupants in an efficient manner,” Zupec said.
An occupant was transported to the hospital with minor smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported to residents or firefighters.
Zupec said two apartments were deemed uninhabitable after the fire and the residents were assisted by the American Red Cross.
All other tenants were allowed to stay in their apartments.
An investigation showed the fire started in a laundry room on the lower level and the cause is still under investigation. A damage estimate was not immediately available.