Stock Room Fire Closes North Lake Street Walgreens In Aurora

AURORA, IL — A Monday afternoon fire in the storage room of a Walgreens at 1221 North Lake Street caused the business to close for the day.

Fire officials said the extent of the damage is unknown, but it could be related to an earlier electrical fire in the alley near Lake Street and West Indian Trail.

Battalion Chief Jim Rhodes, of the Aurora Fire Department, said a single engine was dispatched to the alley behind the strip mall location at around 12:06 p.m. Monday after a semi-truck hit a power line and caused a few small spot fires.

While Engine 3 dealt with the alleyway fire, workers from the Walgreens reported the sprinkler system in the building going off and called an additional unit to the storefront. There, firefighters saw smoke coming from the back room near the loading dock of the pharmacy and extinguished the flames before they could spread.

"Fire damage was contained to stock from the back room of the store," Rhodes said. "No injuries were reported but there was a lot of smoke damage."

Rhodes said the cause of the incident is under investigation, but that a downed cord could definitely spark a fire.

Officials from the damaged Walgreens were not immediately available for comment. Workers at a Walgreens location about two miles away said they'd seen a small increase in the number of COVID-19 vaccination walk-ins today.