Three apartment units in Normal are unlivable after a Friday night fire caused heavy damage.
According to a news release from the Normal Fire Department, fire crews were called to the apartment builiding in the 200 block of West Locust Street at 9:22 p.m. Friday after receiving numerous reports of smoke alarms sounding. The apartment complex is just north of the Illinois State University campus.
The fire department says no one was injured; the origin and cause of the fire are under investigation.
When crews arrived, fire was reportedly coming from a third-floor window on the street side of the three-story, 12-unit building, according to the fire department.
Firefighters had the blaze under control in about 30 minutes. They found no one in the apartment, but that unit and two others sustained smoke and water damage — one unit to the west and one below it, according to NFD.
“There was no one home in the apartment when the fire began which allowed the fire to build up and spread inside the apartment for some time before the smoke became noticeable to neighbors and passersby,” fire department spokesperson Matt Swaney said in the news release.
First Site Apartments manages the property. The company assisted residents in retrieving personal property and restoring power to the rest of the building. It also made arrangements for the displaced students to stay at a hotel.
