MUNDELEIN (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Firefighters helped evacuate 59 people from an apartment building in Mundelein Tuesday night after high winds caused a partial roof collapse.
The fire department said a 30 by 30 foot section of the roof was blown off the two-story brick building at Washington and Thomas. When crews arrived at around 8:45 p.m., people had already started to evacuate from the 21 units.
Janylah McKinney and her family huddled in their bathtub across the street after she saw debris swirling in the wind outside.
“The whole entire window turned gray, and I didn’t really think too much of it,” McKinney said. “I thought the winds were just picking up, but then when I saw things moving around and spinning, that’s when I started to get scared, and then my mom hopped in the tub with us. I’m just glad we’re all ok.”
McKinney’s mother described the sky as looking purple while another neighbor, Eboni Irby, said her ears hurt from the howling wind.
“The debris was just everywhere. They were everywhere, from the trees on the other side of the building to the backyard or the back parking lot where the cars are, there’s a lot of gutters and things just lying around,” Irby said.
Celeste Vandermey lives right next door and said despite the heavy rain and high winds, her home was not damaged. She told WBBM she was shocked to see emergency crews responding and then see a portion of the roof next door gone.
Despite the damage that includes some uprooted trees and blown out windows, the fire department said only one person went to the hospital. A person who was hit by a piece of drywall and had arm pain.
Daylight brought crews from the gas company and curious neighbors who took pictures of the damage as they walked or drove by.
The Red Cross helped with residents who couldn’t stay with friends or family after the building was declared uninhabitable.
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