Five residents were left homeless after separate fires that damaged a house and left an apartment building a total loss in less than 24 hours in Waukegan, fire officials said.
The Waukegan Fire Department responded around 1 p.m. Tuesday to the 300 block of Liberty Street in Waukegan for a report of a structure fire.
Fire crews arrived and found heavy flames showing from the basement windows and front door area of the building, according to Waukegan Fire Department Battalion Chief Todd Zupec.
The structure was a three-unit apartment building, which was unoccupied.
Firefighters initiated an offensive attack by gaining entry to the building and working to extinguish the fire from the inside, Zupec said.
The fire was rapidly spreading to the second floor and attic area due to the type of construction of the building.
Firefighters evacuated the building and established defensive operations by fighting the fire from the outside.
The incident was upgraded to a box alarm through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) at around 1:10 p.m., prompting multiple other fire departments to respond to assist.
The upgrade was due to the extreme cold and the size of the fire, Zupec said.
The fire was brought under control around 3:30 p.m. and firefighters remained on the scene conducting overhaul and extinguishing hot spots until 5:30 p.m.
“The crews on scene did an excellent job in performing their duties despite the frigid temperatures and water supply issues due to the cold weather,” Zupec said.
A Pace bus was on-site as a temporary warming area for firefighters.
The building was undergoing renovations at the time of the fire. No injuries were reported to any civilians or firefighters.
The building was deemed a total loss but no damage estimate was immediately available. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The Waukegan Fire Department responded to a second structure fire in the first block of South Fulton Ave around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Firefighters arrived to find a single-family residence with smoke inside the second level.
The fire was discovered in the wall and attic area and quickly extinguished, Zupec said.
The occupants, who were alerted to the fire by smoke alarms, were able to evacuate on their own. No injuries were reported to any civilians or firefighters.
The damage from the fire required utilities to be shut off to the home, causing it to be uninhabitable.
The American Red Cross was notified and responded to the scene to assist the five occupants.
The cause of the fire appears to be a malfunction of the electrical system. A damage estimate was not immediately available.