Deputies arrested a suspect accused of pouring gasoline at a home and committing a two-alarm arson fire that injured two firefighters and significantly damaged multiple homes near Round Lake.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District responded around 2:34 p.m. Monday to the 35300 block of North Summit Place in unincorporated Round Lake for a report of a structure fire.
Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Jay VandeBerg said firefighters arrived and had to stage away from the scene. They could not immediately access the scene due to an active police situation.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said 911 dispatchers received information that someone was seen leaving the home with a can of gasoline just prior to the home becoming engulfed in flames.
Sheriff’s dispatchers relayed the description of the possible offender to the responding sheriff’s deputies.
Deputies arrived and found a home engulfed in flames.
They quickly arrested a man who matched the description of the person witnesses described, Covelli said.
Firefighters began working to extinguish the fire, which sent heavy flames and smoke from the residence, threatening three additional neighboring homes, VandeBerg said.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the box alarm level and then upgraded again to a second alarm to bring fire departments from throughout the area to the scene.
VandeBerg said two firefighters and a civilian suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were evaluated by paramedics at the scene.
One of the firefighters was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for further treatment and has since been released.
The Lake County Fire Investigation Team, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and investigators from the Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene to begin investigating.
The investigation revealed the suspect, Robert D. Neumann, 43, of Cary, was responsible for setting the fire, Covelli said.
Sheriff’s detectives determined Neumann had been renting space above a detached garage on the property to stay in from time to time.
He was not allowed in the actual residence, only the detached garage.
“It appears Neumann poured gasoline at the rear of the home and set it on fire, for no apparent reason,” Covelli said.
Nobody was inside the residence, which was only used as a weekend getaway home.
VandeBerg said multiple homes sustained significant damage during the incident.
The initial home that was on fire was completely destroyed, an adjacent home was significantly damage and left uninhabitable and two other structures sustained minor damage.
“The GRLFPD extends its thanks to the numerous fire departments from throughout Lake and McHenry counties that provided mutual aid at the scene and assisted with additional emergency calls,” he said.
The fire took approximately two and a half hours to be brought under control.
Firefighters remained at the scene throughout the night to monitor hot spots, with the last firefighters leaving the scene around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Sheriff’s detectives obtained and conducted a search warrant for the detached garage space being used by Neumann and they recovered a nearly empty can of gasoline, Covelli said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges of aggravated arson, a Class X felony, and residential arson, a Class 1 felony, against Neumann.
Neumann remains held in the Lake County Jail pending a First Appearance Court hearing on Tuesday morning.