Fire destroys apartment building in Rolling Meadows

After a fierce, three-hour battle, firefighters finally got the upper hand on a blaze that destroyed an apartment building near Woodfield Shopping Center and displaced possibly dozens of families.

The fire in the 4708 building of the 12 Oaks complex in Rolling Meadows broke out around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, sending terrified residents running from the building and then watching helplessly and tearfully as their possessions went up in flames.

The three-story building in the large complex, west of Route 53 and south of Algonquin Road, has about 30 units, all of which appear to have been left in ruins with the building completely gutted.

Crews attacked the blaze so aggressively that streams of water flowed through the parking lot. They managed to keep the fire from spreading to other buildings. Residents at an adjacent building, at 4706, were allowed to return to their apartments about three and a half hours after they were evacuated, Rolling Meadows police said.

Residents and eyewitnesses said the fire apparently broke out in Apt. 208, which they said was vacant while it was being remodeled. Firefighters later confirmed the blaze started in the vacant apartment.

Several people said they saw a workman jump out of the unit with his arm on fire, then saw him get into a car and drive off.

That had not been confirmed as of Thursday evening, but Rolling Meadows police said one person from the building was taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights with minor injuries.

Officials gave no indication of a possible cause as of late Thursday.

Ashley Gonzalez, 18, who lives directly above where the fire apparently started, said she was taking a shower when she heard a loud bang, which turned out to be her three plasma TVs exploding. She threw clothes on and ran from the unit.

The Red Cross was expected at the scene to help Gonzalez and dozens of other displaced residents find temporary shelter and get other assistance.

Three Schaumburg hotels - Hyatt Place, Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites - offered to put up displaced families through Thursday night, and Moretti's, a nearby restaurant, provided food to affected families. Eighteen residents were to spend the night at area motels, police said.

Crews from across the region attacked the blaze from all sides. At one point, bystanders went scrambling for cover, screaming that the building had exploded.

That was when parts of the structure collapsed, sending large plumes of smoke into the sky.

By about 6:30 p.m., firefighters could be seen inside the ruins of the building, checking for remaining hot spots.

Residents from throughout the complex - children arriving home from school with backpacks and mothers with strollers - gathered in the parking lot to watch and console their neighbors.

The Green family, who lived in the now-destroyed building, watched the scene from the parking lot in tears and disbelief.

Linda Green, 37, said her husband, Carl, was home with their four children - Angelica, 14; Lilly, 10; Angel, 12; and Yasmin, 8 - when they heard the fire alarm sound.

"We saw smoke coming from the door at the end of the hall," said Angelica Green. "I ran inside and yelled for my little brothers and sisters, 'Get out! There's a fire!'

"I'm in shock because there's so many valuable things in our home," she said. "We thought it was safe."

The family ran out with no possessions and now worries about being homeless.

"We don't know what to do," Angelica said.

Linda Green, a nursing student at North Park University in Chicago, had been through a similar experience as a young girl when her apartment building caught fire.

"You're never prepared for something like this," she said. "What you lose is material stuff, but along with that you lose memories that you can't replace."

Greg Towns, 14, who lives in the apartment building next door to the one gutted, said he was doing his homework when he heard an explosion.

"It was just the glass popping open from the apartment," he said.

School officials from MacArthur Elementary and Eisenhower Junior High in Hoffman Estates, where children from the complex are enrolled, were also on site, offering assistance to families.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=9&type=video&item=344">Rolling Meadows apartment fire </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>