This from Mark Mitchell:
We can’t forget the Karcher Hotel fire in Waukegan on 12/25/1984. By then, the building was run as housing for the elderly and eight people died in what I believe was a 4th alarm.
From WaukeganIL.gov:
On Christmas morning in 1984, a fire broke out in the interior wood and plaster wall of the Hotel and burned into a clothing store on the main floor. Eight people died from carbon monoxide poisoning, seven were injured, and four were hospitalized. This was the second fire in the Hotel’s history; the first was in 1978 but did little damage. The fire of 1984 is known as the worst fire in Waukegan’s history.
Photograph by Mark Kodiak Ukena
#1 by Retired FF on December 25, 2023 - 9:07 PM
This was my first fatal fire as a new Firefighter. Never saw any fire but did locate a victim. An eye opening experience for a guy with six months on the job.