Tuesday fire displaces six DeKalb residents at West Ridge Apartments

DeKLAB - Six DeKalb residents are without a home after an apartment fire on Ridge Drive in the early morning hours Tuesday.

No injuries to firefighters or residents were reported, said Don Faulhaber, Battalion Chief for the DeKalb Fire Department.

Vivian Evans, who lives in Building 8 adjacent on the third floor adjacent to the burned building, captured video of the blaze around 2:45 a.m.

“The whole experience was so random and scary because I’ve never seen a fire like this up close and personal,” Evans said.

According to a news release from the DeKalb Fire Department, firefighters responded to West Ridge Apartments, 919 Ridge Drive, around 2:12 a.m. after reports of a fire with smoke and flames coming out from the windows and roof.

When crews arrived, they saw fire coming from a third floor window, and began to search for occupants in the building, though residents had evacuated by the time firefighters came to the scene, the release states.

The fire appears to have started in a living room in the building, the release states.

“I prayed aloud that everyone from the building has made it out safely and also has somewhere warm to be currently,” Evans said.

She said she doesn’t know how the fire was started.

“The fire was huge and the smoke was almost unrealistic,” Evans said. “I myself have a 10 month old and 7 year old. I hope no children were harmed especially and that everyone was in a non-hazardous zone.”

Within 40 minutes, the fire was under control, according to the news release. Investigators estimate damages from six apartment units to be about $500,000. Each unit suffered fire, smoke and water damage and was deemed uninhabitable.

The residents who lost their homes are being assisted by the American Red Cross, the release states. Crews remained on the scene for more than five hours conducting fire investigation and assessing damages.

The fire remains under investigation by the DeKalb Fire Department Fire Investigation Team. Cause of the fire is being ruled accidental at this point, according to the release.

Fire crews from Burlington, Cortland, Hinckley, Malta, Maple Park, Shabbona, Sycamore, Rochelle, Kaneville, Genoa-Kingston and Fox River-Countryside assisted, as did DeKalb and Northern Illinois University police, DeKalb public works, Nicor, Huskie bus transit and ComEd.

This story was updated at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 11 with additional comment from a witness.