A lawsuit has been filed after two elderly men and two animals were killed in a fire reportedly started by a cigarette that engulfed a residence in unincorporated McHenry County.
A lawsuit was filed in McHenry County Circuit Court by Jacob Dodge, who is the executor of the estate of Mark Dodge, against Natalie Robinson, who is the independent administrator of the estate of Eric Dettmer.
Dettmer, 73, of Union, and Dodge, 71, of Campbell, New York, both died on March 5, 2024, in a house fire in the 9600 block of Knolltop Road in unincorporated Union.
Marengo Fire & Rescue Districts Communication Specialist Alex Vucha said the fire was initially reported by a passerby who saw flames coming from the front of the residence.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said their deputies arrived to find the home engulfed in flames and deputies were unable to make entry to the residence due to the amount of fire.
Firefighters arrived on the scene in 11 minutes and reported heavy flames showing from the northwest corner of the one-story home.
A request for additional manpower and resources was made through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) due to the rapidly spreading fire, Vucha said.
Nearly 15 neighboring fire departments responded to the aid request.
Vucha said the fire was declared under control within 25 minutes. Crews continued to extinguish residual hotspots for an additional two hours.
The residence sustained heavy fire damage throughout and was uninhabitable.
Firefighters located Dodge and Dettmer inside the house during fire suppression operations, Vucha said.
Both adult victims, a dog and a cat were pronounced dead at the scene. Dettmer lived in the home where the fire occurred.
The wrongful death lawsuit said that Dettmer, who owned the home, was found in the living room and Dodge was found in the back bedroom.
The fire started in the living room and the lawsuit said Dettmer caused the fire by smoking a cigarette.
The suit says Dettmer failed to exercise ordinary care of the home, failed to warn Dodge of the fire and failed to extinguish the fire, resulting in Dodge’s death.
Dodge is survived by two adult sons and four adult daughters, who have suffered a loss of companionship and society as well as grief and mental anguish, the lawsuit says.
The suit is seeking an unspecified amount of damages in excess of $50,000.
A scheduling conference is set in the case for August 29.