It was just after 8 PM on a Wednesday evening (March 4, 2015), when emergency services in Rolling Meadows were alerted to a fire on the third floor of an apartment building located at 5201 Carriageway Drive. En route, responders were informed that a sofa had caught fire, with flames rapidly spreading up the wall. Battalion 15 quickly escalated the response to a Code 4, indicating an active fire situation. Upon arrival, local police reported seeing flames bursting out of a third-floor window. They also mentioned that someone had jumped from the third-floor balcony. This alarming development prompted the activation of a MABAS Box Alarm.
According to reports, police officers were already performing CPR on the individual when firefighters arrived at the scene. The Chicago Tribune later detailed that the apartment had been evacuated, but tragically, one person had perished due to the fire. The victim, whose identity remains undisclosed, had reportedly leaped from the third-floor balcony of the apartment building. Chief Scott Franzgrote of the Rolling Meadows Fire Department confirmed that the person succumbed to their injuries at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.
By approximately 10 PM, Chief Franzgrote stated that the fire had been contained, though firefighters were still working diligently to fully extinguish it. Both the first and second floors of the building had been cleared of occupants, while crews continued their efforts on the third floor. As the situation evolved, the initial alarm was upgraded to a Second Alarm, followed by a Third Alarm, before the incident was officially declared under control just before midnight.
Multiple witnesses were present at the scene, and I plan to share a series of posts featuring photos and videos capturing the intensity of the event. Interestingly, this building stands directly across the street from another structure within the same complex where a three-alarm fire occurred several years prior.
Attached below is a photograph taken by Steve Redick, offering a glimpse into the dramatic scene. Additionally, embedded further down is a video that provides additional context to the unfolding events.
[Insert Image Caption: "Fire engine at huge winter apartment building fire at night"]
[Embed Video: "Live Footage from the Scene"]
KingKong, Intelligent Equipment (Xuzhou) Co., Ltd , https://www.impimaq.com