A resident escaped unharmed after noticing his unincorporated Lake Villa house was on fire, resulting in it being uninhabitable after flames and smoke erupted Tuesday morning.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Gurnee Fire Department and Newport Township Fire Protection District responded at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to the 37000 block of Fernview Lane in unincorporated Lake Villa for a report of a structure fire.
The Gurnee Fire Department was initially out on the road responding to an unrelated fire alarm at the Village Commons Shopping Plaza, 3575 Grand Avenue, which is on the far east side of Gurnee, when the structure fire on Fernview Lane was dispatched.
A resident was inside the family room of the home when he noticed smoke outside near his backyard.
“He went and checked on it, saw the fire, called 911. He was able to get his car out of his garage in the meantime, and that’s when units started to come on scene,” Gurnee Fire Department Lt. Nick Perry, who was the acting shift commander, said at the scene.
The resident was the sole occupant of the house at the time and was not injured.
“Our Engine 132 out of Station #2 was the first unit on scene,” Perry said. “They gave a size-up of flames and smoke showing from the bravo [left] side and they pulled a line.”
Firefighters pulled another hose line to protect neighboring houses from the fire and entered the primary house to pull parts of the ceiling and attack the fire.
Firefighters also deployed ladders and pulled siding off from the left side of the house to expose the fire and extinguish it.
“We believe it to be an exterior started fire. The vast majority of the fire was on the exterior and it climbed up the bravo [left] side and it made its way into the soffits and the attic,” Perry said.
Perry said the use of fire extinguishing foam helped crews quickly bring the fire under control.
The fire left the home uninhabitable and the residents are working on staying somewhere else in the meantime.
Power to the house was remotely shut off by ComEd.
Technicians from ComEd and North Shore Gas responded to the scene.
Footage from a neighbor’s Ring outdoor security camera, provided to Lake & McHenry County Scanner, showed sheriff’s deputies rushing to check whether the residents were out of the house and working to evacuate neighboring houses.
The first Gurnee Fire Department engine arrived seconds later, the video showed.
A damage estimate or cause of fire was not immediately available.
The Waukegan Fire Department assisted the Gurnee and Newport Township fire departments at the scene.
The Libertyville, Mundelein and Zion fire departments were temporarily stationed at Gurnee’s three fire stations to provide coverage during the incident.
Perry reminded residents to use the “falling back” of clocks for daylight saving time ending as an opportunity to check their smoke detectors.
“Daylight saving time just ended, so it’s a good reminder to change your batteries in your smoke detectors and make sure that they work,” Perry said.