A woman said she called 911 after her dog woke her up and she found her neighbor’s house fully engulfed in flames, which later burnt completely to the ground, near McHenry Saturday morning.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded around 2:11 a.m. Saturday to the 3300 block of North Bayview Lane in unincorporated McHenry in Lake County for a report of a structure fire.
Multiple 911 calls were received reporting the fire.
A neighbor told Lake and McHenry County Scanner she was among those to call after her dog woke her up by barking around 2:15 a.m.
She said she discovered her neighbor’s house on fire and called 911, leading to firefighters quickly arriving.
McHenry Township Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Chris Kozel said firefighters found a fully engulfed single-family residence.
Kozel said the fire was extending to a detached garage next to the home.
The neighbor said that the occupants of the house were not home at the time.
Firefighters encountered extreme weather conditions, limited access to the home, a lack of fire hydrants and a large volume of fire, Kozel said.
The difficult conditions prompted an upgraded response through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) which was activated to the box alarm level, bringing in water tankers and additional manpower.
Firefighters took a defensive stance on fighting the fire while enduring wind chills of -30 degrees for nearly three hours, Kozel said.
Kozel said crews were able to save a nearby garage with several cars inside but the residence is a complete loss.
No injuries were reported to any bystanders or firefighters.
The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, Antioch, Cary, Crystal Lake, Fox Lake, Hebron, Nunda, Richmond, Round Lake, Salem Lakes, Spring Grove, Twin Lakes, Wauconda, Wonder Lake and Woodstock fire departments assisted at the scene or covered calls in McHenry.
The Salvation Army Canteen from Crystal Lake also responded to provide rehab services to firefighters.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the McHenry Township Fire Protection District.