A family was left homeless after an extra-alarm fire heavily engulfed their house, leaving one firefighter injured and prompting a major fire department response in Kildeer Tuesday evening.
The Lake Zurich Fire Rescue Department and Kildeer Police Department responded around 9 p.m. Tuesday to the 21400 block of West Boschome Drive in Kildeer for a report of a structure fire.
Lake Zurich Fire Rescue Chief David Pilgard said crews arrived in five minutes and found a garage heavily engulfed in flames.
The garage was attached to a 3,400 square foot single-family residence and firefighters began pulling hose lines to extinguish the fire.
A rural water supply was established due to the area not having any nearby fire hydrants, Pilgard said.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the box alarm level to bring additional fire departments, including water, to the scene.
The alarm was later upgraded to the second level. Approximately two dozen fire departments responded in total, Pilgard said.
Pilgard said the extinguishment of the fire was complicated by the storage in the attic over the garage.
The attic had begun collapsing when firefighters arrived, causing the fire to spread into the home.
Pilgard said the building construction of the home, which had void spaces, attics and knee walls, also contributed to the delay in extinguishing the fire.
A vehicle in the garage was destroyed. A tow truck removed the car, at which time firefighters were able to fully extinguish the fire and put out residual hotspots.
Firefighters used four hose lines to various parts of the home, Pilgard said.
The family of three who resides in the house was accounted for and they were uninjured.
Two residents were home when the fire broke out. They looked out the window and saw the fire before escaping.
Pilgard said one firefighter suffered a minor injury. A dog was inside the home and removed safely.
Firefighters remained on the scene throughout the night to ensure the fire did not flare back up.
Utilities to the home have been shut off and the house has been deemed uninhabitable.
The garage was completely destroyed and the living area of the home sustained heavy water and smoke damage.
The fire department ensured the residents had arrangements to stay with family in the area and were helping them work through the insurance process, Pilgard said.
Numerous fire investigators, including the MABAS 4 Fire Investigation Team, responded to the scene on Wednesday morning to conduct an investigation.
Pilgard said there is no indication that the fire was suspicious in nature but the investigation is ongoing.