Three cats died, two dogs were rescued and two children were transported to the hospital after a fire caused significant damage to a house near Spring Grove, fire officials said.
The Fox Lake Fire Protection District responded around 6:09 a.m. Saturday to the 38200 block of North 5th Avenue in unincorporated Spring Grove for a report of a structure fire.
Fox Lake Fire Chief Ed Lescher said firefighters were responding when they saw a smoke header in the distance.
Firefighters arrived to find heavy flames coming from the front of the house on the first and second floors.
The area does not have fire hydrants and a rural water supply operation was established, Lescher said.
The Spring Grove, Antioch and Lake Villa fire departments initially responded to assist and then the Randall, McHenry and Wauconda fire departments were also later requested.
Lescher said a father and two children were able to escape the home before firefighters arrived.
Firefighters rescued two large dogs from the home, both of which were breathing and doing well before being transported to an animal hospital.
Three cats died in the fire and were unable to be rescued, Lescher said.
The two children were transported to the hospital for an evaluation due to smoke inhalation.
No injuries were reported to the firefighters. The fire took approximately 20-25 minutes to bring under control and approximately an hour to fully extinguish.
The fire caused significant damage to the two-story single-family house, which was deemed uninhabitable, Lescher said.
The cause of the fire is not suspicious in nature and remains under investigation.