One firefighter was injured after falling through the floor at a house fire in Cary and two others were injured trying to rescue the first firefighter.
The Cary Fire Protection District was called for a house fire at 206 Hickory Nut Grove Lane in unincorporated Cary at 8:27 p.m. Friday, officials said.
According to a statement from the Cary Fire Protection District, an off-duty Cary firefighter that resides in the area was first at the scene at 8:30 p.m. and advised that smoke was showing from the house
The neighbors told firefighters when they arrived that the owners were not home at the time.
The first on-duty fire unit arrived at 8:31 p.m. and confirmed a working fire in the basement of a two-story residential house.
Fire officials said that this house is located in an area that does not have hydrants and firefighters had to set up for a rural water supply operation using portable water pools.
While crews were setting up the water supply another fire crew made entry into the house to locate and extinguish the fire. As this crew was moving through the house there was a floor collapse causing one firefighter to fall into the basement, Cary Fire Lieutenant Michael D. Douglass said.
A mayday distress call was declared at approximately 8:50 p.m.. Officials said that a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT), which is a team of firefighters assigned to respond for mayday situations, was deployed.
The firefighter was located and removed from the basement through the hole he fell into. He was treated by paramedics and transported to Good Shepard Hospital in Barrington with non-life threatening injuries. He was listed in fair condition.
During the mayday, two other Cary firefighters were injured. The first received an electrical shock inside the residence and the other had a leg injury. Both were treated at the scene and transported to Good Shepard Hospital in Barrington in good condition, the Cary Fire Protection District reported.
Due to the mayday situation, the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the first level which brought in additional towns to assist at the scene.
After the mayday was resolved, firefighters extinguished the fire in less than an hour and a half. Firefighters remained on scene until midnight performing overhaul and salvage operations.
Cary Fire Lieutenant Michael D. Douglass said the homeowner, John Birt, was not home at the time of the fire, but returned while the fire was being extinguished. After the fire the family made arrangements to stay at a hotel. There were no civilian injuries.
The Illinois Office of State Fire Marshal is assisting with the fire investigation due to the firefighter mayday. The cause of the fire is still under investigation but is not considered suspicious, officials said. There are no damage estimates available yet and the house is uninhabitable.
Firefighters from the following departments responded to the scene to help: Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, Barrington, Barrington-Countryside, Fox River Grove, Crystal Lake, East Dundee, Lake Zurich, McHenry, Wauconda and Wonder Lake. Cary fire stations were manned by crews from Huntley and Richmond to help cover calls in the town.