Residents were left displaced after a fire fully engulfed a garage attached to a house before spreading to a second house in McHenry overnight, fire officials said.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded around 3:16 a.m. Tuesday to the 500 block of Kensington Drive in McHenry for a report of a structure fire.
McHenry Township Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Ryan Mastandra said firefighters arrived in four minutes to find a two-story house with heavy flames coming from the garage.
The fire was actively spreading to a second home that was adjacent to the garage.
Fire crews were informed that everyone was out of both houses, Mastandra said. The family and neighbors called 911 to report the fire.
The incident was upgraded to a working fire response to bring additional resources to the scene.
Firefighters began conducting a defensive fire attack — extinguishing the fire from the outside — due to the amount of fire involved.
The incident was then upgraded through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) to the box alarm level, which brought additional fire departments to the scene and to cover McHenry fire stations.
Mastandra said firefighters transitioned to an offensive attack — entering the home to extinguish the fire — and they began searching the residence for anyone trapped inside.
The fire was declared under control within approximately 30 minutes. No residents or firefighters were injured.
The house where the fire originated was deemed uninhabitable, Mastandra said. A car inside was also destroyed.
The adjacent home sustained damage but remains habitable.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation and a damage estimate was not immediately available.
Mastandra said the American Red Cross is providing assistance to the displaced residents.
The Salvation Army McHenry County Rehab Canteen responded to the scene to provide refreshments to the firefighters.
The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, Barrington- Countryside, Cary, Countryside, Crystal Lake, Fox Lake, Lake Villa, Nunda Rural, Richmond, Round Lake, Spring Grove, Wauconda and Wonder Lake fire departments assisted either at the scene or by covering McHenry fire stations.