The Meijer in Round Lake Beach was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after a malfunctioning rooftop HVAC unit caused smoke conditions and a burning smell in the store’s break room.
The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, Round Lake Beach Police Department and mutual aid fire departments responded around 3:10 p.m. Tuesday to Meijer, 750 East Rollins Road in Round Lake Beach, for a report of a structure fire.
The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District was already responding to another reported structure fire in the 500 block of North Triumph Court in Hainesville, prompting other fire departments to respond to Meijer as mutual aid.
“Due to a high volume of emergency calls and another reported structure fire in Hainesville, mutual aid was used to assist with the call at Meijer,” Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District Lt. Shane Page said.
Dispatchers received reports of a possible fire in the employee break room area of the store.
Firefighters arrived in minutes and found a burning odor and a light haze of smoke in the break room area, Page said.
The store was already being evacuated.
A customer told Lake & McHenry County Scanner that she heard employees make an announcement for customers to leave their carts and exit the store.
The fire alarms were also activated.
“There was no panic. Everyone walked out accordingly and was obviously curious,” the customer said.
Firefighters were positioned on both the east and west sides of the building while they investigated.
A ladder fire truck from the Wauconda Fire District was deployed at the northeast corner of the building, allowing firefighters to get on the roof of the store while the other fire crews were inside.
Round Lake Beach police officers stood at all entrances to prevent people from entering the store during the investigation.
“After investigating, crews found no active fire and discovered that the odor and light haze were caused by a malfunctioning rooftop air conditioning unit,” Shane said.
“Crews worked with Meijer employees to power off the rooftop air conditioning unit. Ventilation fans were used to clear smoke from the building,” Shane added.
No injuries were reported, although one customer was evaluated by paramedics for possible smoke inhalation.
Emergency crews allowed the employees and customers to re-enter the store at around 3:45 p.m.
“There was no structural or fire damage, and Meijer remains open,” Shane said.
The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District was assisted at the scene by the Antioch, Fox Lake, Grayslake, Gurnee, Lake Villa and Wauconda fire departments.