Fire at Jack's Caused by Lights

The Grayslake Fire Department responded to a fire at around 8 p.m. Friday night.

The fire in the roofing materials caused heavy smoke, but no injuries were reported, said Grayslake Deputy Fire Chief Greg Formica.

"There were initial reports of someone being trapped in the back of the restaurant," Formica said Saturday. "That turned out not to be true. Everyone got out of the restaurant OK."

Formica said they believe the fire was caused by the decorative neon lighting on the outside of the restaurant, near the roof.

"One of the transformers for the lights overheated and sparked the fire," Formica said. The fire affected an approximately five foot square area of the roof, he said. All of the damage was to the outside of the building.

Two Grayslake fire engines and one ambulance were on scene Friday night for about an hour, Formica said. He estimated that damages could be a couple thousand dollars, but that the restaurant is safe to remain open.

The restaurant is open today, Saturday, March 5. No one from Jack's was available for comment this morning.

"The fire was relatively small, but it generated enough smoke that you would have thought all of downtown Grayslake was on fire," Formica said.