Police, Fire Officials Investigating Blaze at Crystal Lake Central High School

Two firefighters were sent to the hospital with heat exhaustion after battling a blaze Wednesday afternoon at Crystal Lake Central High School.

Firefighters from several area departments responded to the blaze at 3:40 p.m. 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.

Two Crystal Lake firefighters were transported to Centegra Hospital-McHenry for heat exhaustion following the blaze. 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.

In a later tweet, 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.

2/2: There is no structural damage. The fire is out and firefighters are assessing the damage. Activities will resume tomorrow as scheduled.

— CL Central H.S. (@CLCentralHS) July" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/CLCentralH... 27, 2016

Fire departments responding to the blaze included Algonquin/Lake in the Hills, Barrington-Countryside, Carpentersville, Cary, East Dundee, Fox River Grove, Huntley, Marengo, McHenry Township, Nunda Rural, Wauconda, West Dundee, Wonder Lake, and Woodstock.

Personnel from the city of Crystal Lake building department and Crystal Lake School District 155 were also notified and responded. Due to the warm conditions, the Salvation Army and the McHenry County Emergency Management Agency assisted at the scene with rehabilitation functions.

The fire is currently under investigation by the Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department and the Crystal Lake Police Department.