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Three firefighters injured in condo fire near Gurnee

Three firefighters were injured while battling a fire Sunday afternoon at a condo building near Gurnee.

Gurnee Fire Protection responded to a call about a building fire at a six unit, two-story condo building on the 1700 block of West Walnut in unincorporated Lake County at 1:36 p.m., Battalion Chief Bob Heraver said.

When firefighters arrived they found heavy fire coming from one of the middle units and activated a second alarm alert to get assistance from area departments.

About 15 departments responded, and the fire was under control within an hour, Heraver said.

Two Gurnee firefighters who were transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, as well as a Newport firefighter who was transferred to Vista East in Waukegan, were injured when part of a ceiling collapsed inside the building, he said.

All three firefighters were in good condition and expected to be released Sunday night.

One person on the scene was treated for a medical condition but not transported to a hospital.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire, but Heraver said it seems to have started near the furnace or hot water heater in the building’s utility room.

Of the six units, one family decided to stay, while the other five have been displaced, he said.

The American Red Cross was on the scene of the fire and will be helping residents of those five units find temporary shelter, Heraver added.

Officials did not yet have an estimate on how much damage was caused by the fire.

Smoke and flames can be seen from a fire Sunday afternoon at two-story condo building near Gurnee. Courtesy of John Wilkins
Smoke and flames can be seen from a fire Sunday afternoon at two-story condo building near Gurnee. About 15 fire departments were called in to handle the blaze.$PHOTOCREDIT_ON$Courtesy of John Wilkins$PHOTOCREDIT_OFF$ Courtesy of John Wilkins
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