A resident says a cooking accident caused an extra-alarm fire that tore through an apartment building, displacing at least a dozen and injuring at least five, near Long Grove Tuesday evening.
The Long Grove Fire Protection District and Cook County Sheriff’s Office responded around 5:51 p.m. Tuesday to the 2300 block of West Nichols Road in unincorporated Arlington Heights, just south of Long Grove, for a report of a structure fire.
911 callers reported multiple people trapped in the burning building at the Country Glen Apartment Complex, according to fire department radio traffic.
Firefighters arrived to find an active fire in a three-story apartment building. Multiple fire departments were called to assist.
Long Grove Fire Protection District Battalion Chief John Jaworski said heavy flames were coming from the second and third floors on the south side of the structure.
The incident was soon upgraded through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) to the box alarm level and then the second alarm level to bring additional fire department resources to the scene.
Jaworski said the fire quickly spread through the entire second and third floors of the apartment building, which is located on Lake Cook Road just east of Route 53. It also spread into the attic.
Firefighters were using multiple hose lines and a tower ladder truck to apply water to the fire, which erupted through the roof.
At least 19 fire departments were on the scene. The Wheeling, Lake Zurich, Countryside, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, Buffalo Grove, Prospect Heights, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Lake Forest, Barrington, Libertyville, Mundelein, Rolling Meadows, Barrington Countryside, Mount Prospect, Park Ridge, Gurnee, Northbrook and Northfield fire departments were assisting Long Grove.
Eight ambulances were dispatched to the scene following injuries reported.
Jaworski said five people were evaluated by paramedics and three of them were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries for further treatment.
As of 7 p.m., heavy smoke continued pouring out of the roof of the building as firefighters continued spraying water on the fire.
The entire six-unit apartment building was deemed uninhabitable after sustaining heavy damage, Jaworski said.
The American Red Cross was at the scene helping find alternative arrangements for the displaced residents. Over a dozen residents were displaced but an exact number was not immediately known.
A resident told Lake and McHenry County Scanner he was playing video games when he heard a woman screaming outside and running.
He then saw flames engulfing the building before the fire department arrived quickly at the scene.
Another resident said she heard the fire trucks and looked outside to see “huge flames” and heard people screaming.
Tatiana Moore told CBS Chicago that the fire started in her apartment while she was cooking.
“I have an electric stove, I was cooking. The grease must have gotten too hot,” Moore said, adding that she saw flames filling her kitchen and quickly spreading.
A large amount of fire investigators from throughout Lake and McHenry counties were dispatched to the scene on Wednesday morning as the investigation remains ongoing with the assistance of the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal.
A damage estimate was not immediately available.