Fire causes extensive damage to tattoo shop in Gurnee strip mall

Fire caused extensive damage but no injuries Wednesday morning to a tattoo and piercing shop in a strip center at 3900 Washington St. in Gurnee.

Firefighters were called at 10:17 a.m. by a passerby to the Washington Crossing shopping center, just west of Route 41. The front windows were broken out and flames were coming from the shop, which occupied two units in the shopping center, according to Battalion Chief Bob Heraver.

Waukegan firefighters helped at the scene, and departments from Zion, Libertyville, Lake Villa and Mundelein were on standby to field calls.

The fire was contained in about 15 to 20 minutes, Heraver said.

No one was inside, he added.

"There was extensive fire damage to both of the units," he said. There was some smoke damage to neighboring spaces but no fire damage. Heraver said it was fortunate the fire didn't spread.

"That's what we always worry about. If it gets up in the ceiling, it can spread to other occupancies," he said.

An online search showed two units in the shopping center occupied by a business called Juggernaut Tattoo.

Inspectors from Gurnee and the Newport Township Fire Protection district were at the scene through early Wednesday afternoon.

The cause of the fire and a damage estimate were not immediately available.