It took firefighters over two hours to extinguish a fire that heavily damaged a home in Ingleside and displaced its residents Tuesday afternoon, fire officials said.
The Fox Lake Fire Protection District responded around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday to the 35000 block of 2nd Avenue in Ingleside for a report of a structure fire.
Fox Lake Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Edward Lescher said crews were notified while responding that the home was fully involved in flames.
Firefighters arrived on the scene to find a one-and-a-half-story house with heavy fire showing from two sides.
There was also heavy smoke showing from the rest of the house, Lescher said.
Firefighters pulled hose lines and began attacking the fire from the exterior.
Once the fire was knocked down, crews tried to advance into the house but were met with “heavy living conditions” inside the home, Lescher said.
Firefighters were unable to advance far into the house.
Crews continued to battle the fire and additional manpower was requested to the scene.
The area did not have fire hydrants and water had to be brought in by water tenders, Lescher said.
It took crews about two and a half hours to fully extinguish the blaze.
Lescher said the homeowners were not home at the time of the fire and there were not any pets inside the house.
The home is now considered uninhabitable and the American Red Cross is assisting the homeowners.
The McHenry, Lake Villa, Round Lake, Antioch, Spring Grove, Grayslake and Wauconda fire departments assisted at the scene and with covering calls in Fox Lake during the incident.