Police, firefighters and paramedics from Mundelein responded about 8:50 p.m. Tuesday, February 27, 2024 to a report of a partial roof and wall collapse at an apartment building at 32 Washington Boulevard in Mundelein. Battalion 43 at about 8:54 p.m. confirmed that partial collapse was discovered at the apartment building. Evacuation of residents was immediately underway. Also, electric and gas utilities were immediately called to the scene.
A MABAS Division 4 Box Alarm (#43-53) for a “Structural Collapse” was activated about 9:03 p.m., bringing mutual aid firefighters and paramedics and equipment from neighboring communities.
According to Mundelein Fire Chief Bill Lark, a microburst was suspected to have removed part of the roof of the building.
A 30×30 foot piece of roof was torn off the southwest corner of the apartment building by high winds.
One child was hurt when a piece of drywall hit him in the head, but it was determined he did not need transport to the hospital by paramedics. No other injuries were reported.
The 2-story apartment building was uninhabitable overnight, and 21 families were displaced. The building was considered structurally sound, but not sound to live in overnight Tuesday to Wednesday.
Firefighters and police officers allowed people to get necessary items or pets from their units one by one, and were then assisted with shelter and alternate living accommodations.
The American Red Cross was on the scene by about 11:05 p.m.
Stay informed with news from The Cardinal’s Emergencies Behind the Scenes Facebook page — Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies. Includes links to favorite public safety and emergency rescuers and product manufacturers and safety companies that have facebook pages. Submit your pictures or just stay up-to-date on with fire, rescue, EMS and police photo galleries. Please add your public safety photo to the wall album — go direct to the Arlington Cardinal Emergencies Behind the Scenes photos. For a list of all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages, go to Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
