Fire at vacant Waukegan building extinguished after 5 hours
WAUKEGAN, Ill. - About 50 firefighters spent five hours Christmas morning battling a blaze in a vacant building in north suburban Waukegan.
No one was injured in the fire at 18 S. Genesee St., which started just after 5 a.m., according to Waukegan Fire Marshal Steve Lenzi.
The building that went up in flames was in the process of being demolished "as part of a City effort to eliminate problematic vacant structures," the Waukegan Fire Department said. It was extinguished about 10 a.m.
Lenzi said the chilly weather, which fell to about 10 degrees Friday morning, impeded the firefighters’ progress, along with the demolition of other nearby buildings.
About 50 firefighters with over 10 agencies assisted the Waukegan Fire Department with putting out the blaze.