Several residents are displaced after a fire, which reportedly started from a vehicle in a garage, fully engulfed a townhome and left three other units uninhabitable in Beach Park late Wednesday evening.
The Newport Township Fire Protection District, Beach Park Fire Department, Zion Fire Rescue Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded at 10:47 p.m. to the 39700 block of Warren Lane in Beach Park for a report of a structure fire.
Dispatchers received a report of a vehicle on fire inside a garage attached to a four-unit townhouse, according to fire department radio traffic.
“The first unit arrived and found heavy fire in the center unit,” Newport Township Fire Chief Mark Kirschhoffer said at the scene.
Firefighters deployed three hose lines and connected supply lines to fire hydrants in the area for a positive water supply, Kirschhoffer said.
The fire was brought under control at around 11:25 p.m. and fully extinguished at around midnight.
Numerous fire departments from throughout the area responded to the scene.
ComEd, North Shore Gas and the Beach Park Building Department also responded to the scene.
No one was injured, Kirschhoffer said, but all four units of the townhouse are uninhabitable.
The center townhouse where the fire started was engulfed in flames and sustained heavy damage, while the other units sustained smoke damage, Kirschhoffer added.
An exact count of how many residents were displaced was not immediately available.
There were three adults and two children displaced from the center unit alone.
The American Red Cross was notified and responded to the scene to provide relief for the displaced residents.
The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation and a damage estimate was not immediately available.