DeKalb police, fire investigate suspected arson in stairwell of Hunter Ridgebrook Apartments

DeKALB - DeKalb police and fire investigators say a fire which reportedly began in the stairwell of the Hunter Ridgebrook Drive apartment complex was the result of a suspected arson Sunday.

According to a news release from the DeKalb Fire Department, around 5:40 a.m. Sunday, crews were called to the 800 block of Ridge Drive, the Hunter Ridgebrook Apartment complex which in the past few years has been the site of multiple suspected arsonists, including one fire in 2019 which displaced nearly 200 residents and condemned the building for months.

Upon arrival, firefighters discovered heavy smoke venting from a stairwell with smoke on the first and second floors, according to the fire department release. Firefighters used a fire hose to attack the blaze from the inside and went about the building looking for occupants or victims.

One person was treated for non-life-threatening injuries by paramedics on the scene, the reports states, and did not require hospital transport.

The fire was under control within an hour, and residents in nearby apartments were told by firefighters to shelter in place until the smoke was ventilated. Crews report about $50,000 worth of damage due to the fire.

According to the fire department report, the building remains habitable and no one required relocation. Crews remained on scene for two hours and 20 minutes, the release states.

DeKalb’s fire prevention officer, fire administration and representatives from the property “developed an immediate remediation plan to keep the building occupied,” the release states. “The fire is believed to be incendiary in nature and is currently being investigated,” by DeKalb police and fire investigators, the release states.

Crews from Burlington, Genoa-Kingston and Sycamore, along with DeKalb police assisted.

It’s not the first time a suspected arson has been cited by DeKalb police and fire crews as the cause behind blazes set inside the apartment building, owned by the Evanston-based Hunter Properties.

In the summers of 2018 and 2019, several attempted arsons were reported at Hunter Ridgebrook Apartments at 808 Ridge Drive where tenants were forced from their homes, including in July of 2019, displacing almost 200 people. That fire was the result of mattresses which fire investigators reported were set ablaze in a third floor common area, blocking the stairwell and requiring many residents on the upper levels to jump from their balconies to the ground below. The building was subsequently condemned and then reopened.

Multiple arsons were reported at the apartment building in the summer of 2018 also, and that along with 2019′s incidents spurred the City to attempt additional remediation and ramp up security measures in the area. In a years-long effort, the DeKalb City Council on April 26 approved a settlement agreement which will require the controversial landlord -- who’s properties in the past have been the subject of nearly 500 code violations -- to sell several of its properties, including Hunter Ridgebrook Apartments.

As part of the settlement, meant to encourage new ownership of the properties and improve upon continued concerns voiced by residents about quality of living, the landlord will be required to sell include Hunter Ridgebrook, Hunter Tri-Frat, Lincoln Tower and Hunter Hillcrest within the next two years, according to the agreement.

As of 6:50 p.m. Sunday, no arrests have been reported by DeKalb police in connection to the fire incident, according to the DeKalb Police Department’s online arrest reporting dashboard.