One firefighter suffered minor injuries while battling a fire at a residence near McHenry that sent heavy flames billowing from the roof of the home.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded around 7:30 p.m. Friday to the 2600 block of Thomas Court in unincorporated McHenry for a report of a house.
Crews arrived to find heavy smoke and flames visible from the attic of a one-story single-family dwelling, according to McHenry Township Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Kevin Sears.
Firefighters made an aggressive interior attack but were forced to retreat from the building because of the volume of fire in the attic space, Sears said.
Once the crews were able to make progress on the fire from the exterior, they transitioned back inside to complete extensive salvage and overhaul work, Sears said.
There were no civilian injuries. One firefighter suffered a minor injury that did not require transport to the hospital.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Investigators from McHenry, Spring Grove and Woodstock fire departments responded.
It is unknown if smoke detectors were present at the time of the fire. The damage is estimated to be over $100,000, Sears said.
The incident was upgraded through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) to bring firefighters from the Wauconda, Nunda-Rural, Wonder Lake, Crystal Lake, Fox Lake, Round Lake and Richmond fire departments.
The fire district in McHenry was covered by Huntley, Woodstock, Spring Grove and Lake Villa fire departments.