A prompt response by firefighters contained a fire at a Gurnee medical building on Saturday afternoon after cleaning staff discovered smoke inside the facility. The incident occurred at the Labcorp building, located at 200 South Greenleaf Street, Suite L, with emergency services responding around 3:15 p.m.
Initial Response and Discovery
Gurnee Police Department officers were first on scene, confirming the presence of smoke in the multi-tenant medical building, which houses several healthcare facilities including a medical laboratory, dental office, and doctor’s practice. According to Gurnee Fire Department Lt. Tony Roberts, firefighters located smoke emanating from beneath a door, which was hot to the touch when crews arrived.
Fire Control Operations
Emergency responders took decisive action, deploying a hose line and forcing entry into the affected room. Crews established a water supply from a parking lot hydrant as a precautionary measure. Lt. Roberts described encountering “a substantial amount of fire and smoke pouring out of the room” upon entry.
Damage Assessment and Safety Measures
The fire was successfully contained to a single administrative office, though smoke damage extended throughout the office suite. Minor structural damage occurred in an adjacent suite, but Lt. Roberts indicated it wouldn’t cause extended business interruption.
Given the facility’s nature as a medical building, firefighters exercised additional caution due to potential biohazard exposure risks.
Building Safety Concerns
Notably, the building lacked both fire alarms and sprinkler systems. While no injuries were reported in the incident, investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire. A damage estimate was not immediately available.
The successful containment of the fire demonstrated the effectiveness of the emergency response, preventing what could have been a more extensive incident in a building housing sensitive medical facilities and materials.
