Residents were awoken by smoke detectors and escaped without injury after an early morning fire caused extensive damage to an apartment building in McHenry.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded around 2:30 a.m. Monday to the 1300 block of Park Street in McHenry for a report of a structure fire.
McHenry Township Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Kevin Sears said crews arrived in three minutes and found a two-and-a-half-story, wood frame home.
Heavy smoke was coming from the basement of the converted apartment building.
Smoke detectors were present in the building and alerted the occupants who had been sleeping at the time of the fire, Sears said.
Fire crews started an offensive attack on the fire by entering the basement with a hose line through a rear door.
Sears said additional crews entered the building to search for any occupants still inside.
An extensive search of all floors showed no occupants were found in the building.
The fire was located in the basement, Sears said. The cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation by the McHenry Township Fire Protection District.
The building sustained extensive damage and was deemed uninhabitable.
No residents or firefighters were injured during the incident, Sears said.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department assisted McHenry at the scene.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm (MABAS) system was activated to the box alarm level to provide McHenry fire station coverage from the Cary, Woodstock, Lake Villa and Round Lake fire departments.