Fire Officials: Construction Work May Have Lead to Fire at Crystal Lake Central High School

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL - Construction work being completed at Crystal Lake Central High School may have sparked a fire that caused $10,000 to $15,000 in damage at the school Wednesday afternoon, fire officials said Thursday.

Chris Olsen, deputy fire chief for the Crystal Lake Fire/Rescue Department, said an investigation is still underway into the blaze but officials are "focusing on the construction work that was being done on the roof” as the possible cause for the fire, which is not being considered suspicious in nature. Olsen said fire officials are still sorting out what exactly caused the blaze.

Firefighters from several area departments responded to the blaze at 3:40 p.m. Wednesday after a passerby reported smoking in the area of the high school, 45 W. Franklin Street in Crystal Lake, according to a press release from the Crystal Lake Fire/Rescue Department.

Firefighters first on scene found thick, black smoke coming from the roof area of the school and immediately upgraded the alarm to a full structure fire response. The fire was contained to the roof area only and did not extend into the building.

School officials said everyone was safely evacuated from the high school and “accounted for,” according to a tweet on the Crystal Lake Central High School Twitter page. Olsen said he did not believe any construction workers were on the roof at the time of the blaze. The blaze sent two firefighters to the hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion.

Shannon Podzimek, spokeswoman for District 155, said in an e-mail that the school district received possession of the building late Wednesday night and were still assessing the damage and next steps.

In a tweet Wednesday, school officials the school had “no structural damage” and “activities would resume” Thursday as scheduled. Summer construction got underway at the school this past week and the school offices and services had been moved to the Crystal Lake South High School library for the time-being. The first day of school at Crystal Lake Central is Aug. 24.