Seven people were taken to the hospital, and more than 40 displaced, following a Monday morning three-alarm fire at the Glen Oak Towers high-rise in downtown Peoria.
Peoria Fire Department Battalion Chief Lore Baxter said crews arriving to the building found heavy smoke on the fourth floor, and calls of residents trapped on that floor and several floors above. Firefighters were able to advance an attack line through the fourth-floor stairwell's standpipe system to extinguish the fire.
Residents were evacuated and transported by CityLink to the Peoria Civic Center. The American Red Cross assisted with meals and blankets.
A fire investigator determined the fire's cause was accidental in nature. No firefighters were injured. Damages are estimated at $300,000.
About 40 residents are still displaced. The remainder were able to return to their apartments later Monday.
The Glen Oak Towers are a public-private partnership housing seniors and people with disabilities.
This isn't the first time a fire has broken out at the building. In 2017, a 42-year-old man died after a lit cigarette started a fire in his 12th floor apartment.
