Waukegan Salvation Army store destroyed by fire

An extremely large fire that destroyed a former Salvation Army Store and warehouse Wednesday is being called suspicious by Waukegan fire officials.

Waukegan Fire Department Fire Chief Dan Young said firefighters were sent to the scene of the vacant store in the 100 block of Genessee Street at 6 a.m., with reports flames were showing from the roof and the rear of the building.

Young said the 30,000-square-foot warehouse building, which had been vacant for about five years, was completely engulfed when firefighters arrived on the scene moments later.

“We had fire showing in the back, the side and through the roof of the building, with heavy smoke throughout,” he said. “It was too dangerous to send firefighters in, so we took a defensive stance to protect neighboring structures and just drowned it.”

That plume of smoke could be seen as far away as the Tri-State Tollway.

Young said no one was injured in the blaze, and firewalls on either side of the warehouse kept the fire contained. Fire crews repeatedly checked other structures to ensure the fire hadn’t spread, he added.

Buildings around the warehouse were evacuated during the fire, including the Waukegan Township Supervisor’s office.

The fire was brought under control and extinguished by about 9:30 a.m., but crews remained on the scene investigating the cause of the blaze, Young said.

“There was no gas to the building, and we are still trying to determine if the building had electricity,” he said. “We are considering the fire suspicious at this time, but the cause is still undetermined. But, vacant buildings just don’t start themselves on fire.”

Young said it was the second suspicious fire that ignited in Waukegan Wednesday morning. Just before the Salvation Army fire, firefighters were called to the scene of another blaze in the 2400 block of Grand Avenue.

That fire started on the exterior of a building, and vandalism seemed to play a role, Young said, but damages were minor and the fire was snuffed out quickly.

He said the two fires seem unrelated, though the cause of the first fire is also under investigation.

“We had a really busy morning,” he said.