Fire officials say a home was left uninhabitable after a fire started on the exterior and spread inside the residence near McHenry Saturday evening.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded around 7 p.m. Saturday to the 2900 block of West Parkside Avenue in unincorporated McHenry for a report of a structure fire.
McHenry Township Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Ryan Mastandrea said crews arrived on the scene within four minutes to find a one-story home with flames showing from the exterior.
Firefighters initially did not know whether any residents were home.
Fire crews entered the structure and found the fire had spread to the interior from the exterior, Mastandrea said.
They initiated an aggressive interior attack to extinguish the fire while simultaneously conducting a search of the home.
Mastandrea said it was learned that the residents were not home at the time of the fire.
The fire was brought under control in approximately 20 minutes. No firefighters were injured.
The Fox Lake, Nunda Rural and Crystal Lake fire departments assisted at the scene.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the box alarm level for change of quarters units to cover McHenry fire stations.
The Fox River Grove, Antioch, Spring Grove, Richmond, Cary, Round Lake and Lake Villa fire departments provided station coverage.
Mastandrea said the home was deemed uninhabitable and a damage estimate was not immediately available.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the McHenry Township Fire Protection District.