Over $12,000 has been raised in the past day for a Cary family who lost their home in a massive fire Monday and left one of their family dogs dead.
The Cary Fire Protection District responded around 6:39 a.m. Monday to the 500 block of Holly Lynn Drive for a report of a structure fire.
Cary Fire Protection District Lt. Michael Douglass said an off-duty firefighter arrived on the scene first and confirmed the rear of a two-story home was well involved in fire.
Firefighters arrived and began a fire attack. No one was inside the house at the time of the fire.
Douglass said that the home is in an area that does not have any fire hydrants so firefighters had to set up for rural water supply operations using portable water pools.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the first level to bring additional resources from neighboring towns to the scene.
The incident was later upgraded to a second alarm for more equipment and resources, Douglass said.
It took multiple hose lines as well as an elevated master stream to extinguish the fire, which was declared under control at 8:16 a.m.
Firefighters remained on the scene for several additional hours performing salvage and overhaul operations.
One firefighter was not feeling well and was transported to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington where he was treated and released. No civilians were injured.
The house was a complete loss but a damage estimate was not immediately available.
The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal responded to the scene to assist with the investigation.
A GoFundMe account was started by Nikki Dzierzbicki and Alex Crowley to help the Crowley family.
The family of four were able to rescue their dog thanks to nearby neighbors but their other dog and a goldfish both died in the blaze.
“Any donations are welcomed and deeply appreciated, as this wonderful family lost all of their possessions, and a family member due to this tragedy,” Dzierzbicki said.
A total of 27 Cary Fire Protection District firefighters responded to the scene in addition to dozens of firefighters from other departments.
The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, Barrington, Barrington-Countryside, Fox River Grove, Nunda Rural and Wauconda fire departments responded to the scene initially.
The Crystal Lake, East Dundee, Lake Zurich, Long Grove, McHenry, Mundelein, Palatine Rural, Rolling Meadows, Woodstock and Wonder Lake fire departments were called once the alarm was upgraded.
Cary’s fire station was covered by crews from Huntley and Carpentersville.