Cleanup begins after Libertyville apartment building fire

Most residents displaced by a three-alarm blaze at a Libertyville apartment building are allowed to return to their homes, fire officials said today.

However, residents who were on the second floor when the blaze struck about 3:35 p.m. Tuesday will have to wait awhile longer to get back into their apartments, said Fire Chief Rich Carani.

Officials have determined the fire at Cook Apartments at 201 E. Cook Ave., was electrical, but didn't know what ignited the blaze that left 150 people homeless for at least one night, Carani said. The fire is not suspicious, he added.

Apartments on the second floor and directly above and below the apartment unit where the fire started still have heavy damage. Carani did not know when residents in those units would be allowed to return home.

"We are letting people on the second story back in (today) to get some of their belongings," he said. People on the third floor through fifth floor, and those on the first floor, were expected to be allowed back in their homes for good later tonight, Carani said

Most displaced residents have stayed with relatives or at nearby hotels while waiting to return to their apartments.

The building was deemed uninhabitable Tuesday night after the fire that hospitalized five people, fire officials said.

The injured were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for smoke inhalation. Their conditions were unknown today, but none of the injuries was life-threatening, officials said.