No sprinklers, fire alarms in ravaged Crystal Lake condo building
There were no fire-suppression sprinklers or fire alarms in a Crystal Lake condominium building gutted by a blaze early Wednesday morning, authorities said Thursday.
Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department Deputy Chief Christopher Olsen confirmed the lack of sprinklers or alarms in the building at 540 Devonshire, in the city's Coventry Club subdivision.
Alarms and sprinklers were not required when the building was constructed in 1965.
Olsen said fire officials believe the fire started on an apartment balcony, possibly by an unattended candle. The balcony was made of concrete, but items on it may have caught fire.
The fire spread to the building and traveled through the attic, leaving the 20-unit building uninhabitable and about 21 residents displaced.
Olsen said the building has been turned back over to its management company, and it would be up to the insurers for the condominium association and the individual units as to when residents can return.
Under today's building codes, Olsen said, builders constructing new multifamily buildings would have to install automatic fire alarms and sprinklers, and fire walls that stretched all the way to the underside of the roof. Firewalls have to be made of materials guaranteed to withstand a fire for a certain amount of time.
Crystal Lake's building department supervisor could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.