Fire sweeps through Lake Co. pet store, killing dozens of animals

Snakes, hamsters, fish, birds and several other animals died early Sunday morning when a massive fire tore through a Beach Park pet store, authorities said.

Firefighters were called at 6:06 a.m. to the Happyland Pet Center, 11432 Wadsworth Road, for a report of a fire in the two-story building that housed the business and second-level apartments. Initial reports indicated residents may have been trapped on the second story, Beach Park Fire Chief Paul Tierney said.

Firefighters who conducted the initial rescue encountered heavy smoke and fire, which grew to such intensity that they had to be pulled from the building, Tierney said. At that point, he said, the firefighters went into “defensive mode.”

“We found out after we had to evacuate our firefighters that, in fact, all of the owners had left for the weekend and no one was in the building except for the pets,” Tierney said.

there were no civilian or firefighter injuries, officials said, but numerous animals in the store were killed.

The roof and exterior walls of the building collapsed during the fire, and the structure has been declared a total loss. Damage is estimated at $650,000.

The fire appears to have started in the building's basement, Tierney said. Its cause remains under investigation.

Tierney said about 70 firefighters from 20 departments in Illinois and Wisconsin helped with the fire, including firefighters from the Newport Township Fire Protection District, the Zion Fire and Rescue Department, and the Winthrop Harbor Waukegan fire departments.