No one injured in Waukegan apartment fire

A bolt of lightning sparked a fire on the roof of a 28-unit apartment building on the north side of Waukegan Monday night.

No one was injured in the fire, though 10 units were uninhabitable overnight as a result of the blaze, according to a news release by the Waukegan Fire Department.

Firefighters arrived on the scene just after 8:45 p.m. Monday and saw the center of the roof was on fire and belching smoke into the air. First responders evacuated residents and fought the fire, and were able to snuff it out in around 20 minutes.

"Our firefighters once again did a tremendous job," Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said. "They worked hard to quickly recognize and assess the situation and initiate a safe response in difficult situation in very poor weather conditions."

The fire displaced all of the building's residents during the rainstorm, but more of the residents were allowed back in around two hours after the fire was extinguished and the smoke was cleared. The rest of the residents who weren't able to return to their homes received assistance from the American Red Cross.

By noon Tuesday, all but three of the fire or smoke damaged units were cleared and the residents were allowed to return.

Waukegan firefighters were on the scene for around four hours and received assistance from the from Gurnee and Beach Park fire departments.