A dog was killed and another dog was transported to a veterinarian after a fire broke out at midnight on Tuesday and caused significant damage to a Lake Villa home.
The Lake Villa Police Department and Lake Villa Fire Protection District responded at 12 a.m. Tuesday to the 200 block of Burnett Avenue in Lake Villa for a report of a structure fire.
Police officers and firefighters arrived to find heavy fire conditions coming from the back and attic areas of the single-story residence.
There was one resident inside the house at the time, who was able to evacuate prior to the arrival of firefighters, but two dogs were still inside, Lake Villa Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Jay Vance said at the scene.
The first arriving firefighters pulled multiple hose lines to the back of the home to begin their attack.
Crews later entered the building through the front door to finish extinguishing the fire, Vance said.
The two dogs inside the house were rescued.
Vance said that firefighters faced challenges due to the amount of storage in the attic space of the home.
“They had to pull it all down and basically just open a bunch of the ceiling up, so that was the most difficult part,” Vance said.
A fire hydrant located nearby in the cul-de-sac was used to establish a positive water supply.
One of the dogs died, while the other was transported to a veterinarian in the Buffalo Grove area where their condition stabilized, Vance said.
The sole resident at the time refused treatment by rescue personnel.
No other humans were injured.
The home sustained most of its fire damage in the rear and attic, Vance said.
There was “extensive” smoke damage throughout the home, which is uninhabitable.
Investigators from the Lake Villa and Greater Round Lake fire protection districts were at the scene looking into what caused the fire.
A damage estimate was not immediately available.
The Lake Villa Fire Protection District was assisted at the scene by the Greater Round Lake, Grayslake, Newport Township, Fox Lake and Waukegan fire departments.
The Gurnee Fire Department and Wauconda Fire District provided coverage for Lake Villa during the incident.