A dozen fire departments were called after a barn became fully engulfed in flames and damaged a house near McHenry Thursday evening, fire officials said.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded around 7:30 p.m. Thursday to the 2200 block of North Ringwood Road in unincorporated McHenry for a report of a structure fire.
Multiple 911 calls were received reporting the fire.
McHenry Township Fire Protection District Battalion Chief David Harwood said firefighters arrived in four minutes to find a steel barn fully engulfed in flames.
Harwood said the barn was approximately 10 feet from a nearby house and the heat from the fire had already begun melting the home’s vinyl siding.
The response was immediately upgraded to a working fire and then upgraded again through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) to a box alarm, Harwood said.
The upgrades brought additional water resources to the scene as no fire hydrants are in the immediate area.
Harwood said crews deployed two hose lines to protect the residence while working to suppress the barn fire.
The blaze was brought under control within 15 minutes and fully extinguished approximately 45 minutes later.
The Algonquin, Antioch, Cary, Crystal Lake, Fox Lake, Grayslake, Hebron, Nunda, Richmond, Round Lake, Salem Lakes, Spring Grove, Wauconda, Wonder Lake and Woodstock fire departments assisted at the scene or covered other calls in McHenry.
There were no injuries reported and the house remains habitable, Harwood said.
The barn was a total loss but a damage estimate was not immediately available.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District is working to investigate the cause of the fire.