A resident was awoken and able to safely escape after a fire engulfed a house and caused severe damage to the residence in Zion early Monday morning, fire officials said.
The Zion Fire-Rescue Department and Zion Police Department responded around 1:26 a.m. Monday to the 1900 block of Elizabeth Avenue in Zion for a report of a structure fire.
Zion Fire-Rescue Department Chief Justin Stried said fire crews arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the rear of a single-family residence.
It was quickly determined that the home’s sole occupant had successfully escaped the home unharmed.
Stried said firefighters pulled hose lines to work on extinguishing as much fire as possible while other fire crews completed standard fireground duties, including securing a water supply at a hydrant, ensuring the house was properly ventilated and performing a search of the home to ensure no one else was inside.
The incident was upgraded to the Working Still Alarm, which brought additional firefighters to the scene and to cover Zion fire stations.
Firefighters extinguished the fire in approximately an hour.
Stried said damage was severe to multiple parts of the residence, which was deemed uninhabitable, and the resident will not be able to live in the home until repairs and restoration are completed.
“Fires in the middle of the night, in which crews are not certain if the occupants are aware of the fire in their home, is always a concern of the responding firefighters. Fortunately, that did not end up being the case with this fire and the occupant was safe,” Stried said.
The resident told firefighters that he was sleeping and woke up after hearing the noise from the fire and the smoke alarms activating.
Fire officials said it is important that every home is equipped with multiple working smoke alarms.
“We cannot stress strongly enough the importance of ensuring working smoke alarms are present in your home, as well as having a pre-determined escape plan in case of emergency,” Stried said.
No injuries were reported at the scene. Fire investigators are still reviewing interview and scene information and are working to determine the cause of the fire.
Stried said an origin or exact cause was not determined and a preliminary damage estimate was $150,000.
The Beach Park, Gurnee, Winthrop Harbor, Pleasant Prairie and Newport fire departments assisted at the scene.
The Libertyville, North Chicago and Antioch fire departments covered Zion fire stations during the incident.