An air conditioner caught fire this evening on the second floor of an apartment building near the Evanston lakefront, the city’s fire department said.
No one was injured in the blaze at 642 Sheridan Square, and it was contained to the room with the burning air conditioner, according to the fire department.
More than five fire trucks arrived at the scene before 6 p.m. as people gathered outside the building.
Jennifer Sarashinsky said she was running near the complex when she saw a nearby transformer blow up, causing the air conditioner in the second-floor window to ignite.
Josh Cohen said he heard a similar explosion from his Sheridan Road apartment and experienced a power outage for a few seconds.
“There was an electrical explosion that was really loud,” Cohen said. “I came out to see what was going on, and already there was some smoke coming out of the second-floor apartment window.”
Residents on the first and second floors were moved out of the building.
— Edward Cox