Numerous fire departments were called to an extra-alarm fire that caused significant damage to a vacant home in North Chicago, fire officials said.
The North Chicago Fire Department and North Chicago Police Department responded around 10:37 p.m. Friday to the area of 22nd Place and Hillcrest Avenue in North Chicago for a report of a structure fire.
911 callers reported heavy smoke in the area and officers arrived to find a home on fire in the 3100 block of 22nd Place.
Firefighters arrived to encounter heavy flames and smoke showing from the vacant single-family residence, according to North Chicago Fire Chief John Umek.
A Working Still Alarm was activated to bring the Libertyville, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Gurnee, Great Lakes and Waukegan fire departments to the scene.
Several of the departments were unavailable to respond as they were already assisting the Mundelein Fire Department with another structure fire in Mundelein at the time.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the box alarm level a short time later. The response was upgraded again approximately an hour later to the second alarm level.
Umek said no injuries were reported and no one was living at the residence at the time.
The fire caused significant damage to the home, Umek said. A damage estimate is still being determined.
Umek said the cause of the fire remains under investigation by the North Chicago Fire Department.
The Salvation Army McHenry County Rehab Canteen responded to the scene to provide rehab services to firefighters, who remained on the scene for several hours extinguishing the fire and conducting overhaul operations.
Umek said at least seven to 10 fire departments responded to the scene.
Several fire departments also covered calls in North Chicago during the incident.