Excerpts from Chicago.cbslocal.com:
Two dogs were killed and seven people left homeless after flames destroyed a two unit house in the 500 block of McAlister Avenue in Waukegan overnight Wednesday.
Firefighters arrived to find fast-spreading flames that took hours to put out. Two firefighters received minor injuries.
The people who were living in the home are being assisted by the Red Cross.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Max Weingardt photo
Waukegan firefighters responded to 545 W Water Street for a house fire Friday evening and had heavy fire on arrival. The alarm was upgraded to a MABAS Box Alarm for additional resources.
Larry Shapiro photo
Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
A young woman staying in an illegal basement apartment in her family’s single-family home was in critical condition because of smoke inhalation after a fire Monday night during which firefighters rescued her.
“There was heavy smoke and fire visible in the basement area upon arrival,” said Steve Lenzi, spokesman for the Waukegan Fire Department, of the call at just before 5:30 p.m. at 1327 N. Jackson St..
“It was a very smokey basement fire,” Lenzi said. “We were notified of a person trapped inside in the basement. They did a heck of a job through smokey conditions.”
The fire started in a couch, but the cause is under investigation.
“Within 15 minutes of the call, we recovered the victim and had her on life-support in an ambulance,” Lenzi said.
The city building department was notified because it was an illegal basement bedroom. The fire in the couch was in a different area than the bedroom, Lenzi said.
“Nobody should be staying in a basement bedroom. It’s not a safe condition,” he said, adding there has to be access to a door or windows that are a certain height off the ground and large enough for a person to escape through.
“This is an old brick house with glass blocks in the basement windows, so they don’t even open,” Lenzi said.
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