Police officers reportedly spotted a fire early this morning at the Happyland Pet Store located at 11432 W. Wadsworth Road in Beach Park. First arriving companies found heavy smoke the the alarm was upgraded very quickly.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that:

The Beach Park Fire Department said firefighters were called to the building that houses the Happyland Pet Center, 11432 W. Wadsworth Road, at 6:06 a.m.

Initial reports said a person was trapped in one of the apartments above the store, but all residents of the building were able to escape the fire.

The Chicago Tribune has an article which states that:

A Beach Park pet store was completely destroyed this morning after a blaze broke out in the basement and killed hamsters, gerbils, fish and reptiles, officials said.

Firefighters were alerted about 6 a.m. to the Happyland Pet Center located at 11432 W. Wadsworth Rd. and found heavy smoke, said Beach Park Fire Department Chief Paul Tierney.

Firefighters went into rescue mode and searched the upstairs of the structure when a flashover occurred. A water supply issue at the scene slowed down firefighting efforts and assisting companies were called in from 15 surrounding communities including Waukegan, Zion and Newport, Tierney said. About 75 firefighters were called to the scene.

“The fire had been burning for quite some time before we were called,” said Tierney. He added the fire originated in a concrete bunker-type basement that had only one entrance.

Jeff Rudolph, Tim Olk, and Larry Shapiro all went to the scene. Jeff arrived shortly after the 2nd Alarm was pulled and submitted several images.

Smoke pushes out of the front of the pet store building, Jeff Rudolph photo

Heavy fire is seen on the second floor which was living space. Jeff Rudolph photo

The fire on the second floor breaks through the roof as firefighters use hand lines in the rear. Jeff Rudolph photo

The Winthrop Harbor truck working an elevated master stream from the west side of the building (the 'B' sector) as heavy fire vents through the roof. Jeff Rudolph photo

The Lake Forest tower ladder was one of three trucks working at the scene. Jeff Rudolph photo

The entire second floor, attic, and roof are well involved as seen from the rear. Jeff Rudolph photo

Smoke pushes out of the first and second floors as tower ladders from Gurnee and Lake Forest work on opposite sides of the building. Larry Shapiro photo

A Beach Park engine works of a hydrant near the building, but the operation required more water than the main could handle so a tanker shuttle was instituted. Larry Shapiro photo

After the main fire on the second floor was knocked down, fire continued to burn in the rear and the basement for quite some time. Larry Shapiro photo

The Winthrop Harbor quint was relocated to the B-C corner and was put to work again. Larry Shapiro photo

A gallery of Jeff’s images is available HERE. Tim Olk has images available for viewing HERE. Larry Shapiro has a gallery which can be viewed HERE.

More images and a video will be added later.

Tags: Beach Park Fire Department, commercial building fire, fire tanker shuttle, fire tender shuttle, firefighters fighting fire, folda-tank, Gurnee Fire Department, Gurnee Fire Department tower ladder, Happyland Pet Store destroyed by fire, heavy fire in a commercial building, Jeff Rudolph, Lake Forest Fire Department, Larry Shapiro, pet store fire on Wadsworth Road in Beach Park, porta-tank, portable tanks, Seagrave Mean Stick, Seagrave quint working at a fire scene, Tim Olk, Winthrop Harbor Fire Department