An on-duty Gurnee firefighter responded to his own house on fire Thursday morning that left the man’s mother injured, another firefighter injured, and a cat dead, officials said.
The Gurnee Fire Department responded around 10:10 a.m. Thursday to the 37100 block of Shirley Drive in Gurnee for a report of a structure fire.
Gurnee firefighter-paramedic Bob Davidson was riding on the first fire engine that arrived at the scene minutes after the 911 call was made.
The second floor of the home was found to be engulfed in flames and smoke. It took firefighters, including Davidson, who owns the home, almost 20 minutes to get the blaze under control.
No one was home at the time of the fire except for a dog and a cat. Davidson’s mother lives next door and helped save the dog, but suffered smoke inhalation.
The cat was pulled from the home and CPR was performed but it died, city officials said. One firefighter was transported to a local hospital where they were evaluated and released.
Firefighters from Newport, Waukegan, Lake Villa, Mundelein, Zion, Libertyville and Grayslake were called to the scene to assist in extinguishing the fire and provide coverage for Gurnee.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Gurnee Fire Department. A damage estimate was not immediately available but the home is uninhabitable.
A GoFundMe donation page setup for Davidson by a fellow firefighter has already raised almost a $1,000 with a goal of $10,000.