The community is collecting donations for a family who was left homeless after a fire engulfed their home and left their pets dead in Round Lake last week.
The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District responded around 2 p.m. Tuesday to the 500 block of Greenwood Drive in Round Lake for a report of a structure fire.
Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District Lt. Charley Mitchell told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that fire crews quickly arrived on the scene to find the entire back of the single-family home fully involved in flames.
Firefighters fought the fire from the outside and protected the surrounding exposures.
Another crew went inside to extinguish the fire, Mitchell said. It took approximately 45 minutes to get the blaze under control.
Investigators believe the fire started outside but the exact cause is still under investigation.
The fire caused significant damage and left the residence uninhabitable.
The American Red Cross was notified for five adults who were displaced from their home, Mitchell said.
No injuries were reported to the residents or any firefighters.
The Grayslake, Lake Villa, Fox Lake and Wauconda fire departments assisted at the scene. Antioch and McHenry fire crews covered Round Lake fire stations.
Deanna Jacobo, who is the daughter-in-law of the family, said the family lost their pets in the fire and are “devasted by their loss.”
No one was home when the fire began. The family did not have renter’s insurance and Jacobo said her father-in-law has been out of work due to an injury.
“They need all the help they can get. They have no home, clothes, furniture, food, nothing,” she said.
Almost $5,000 has been raised for the family so far by over 100 donors from a GoFundMe account. The family has also received clothes donations.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal.