A resident was evaluated by paramedics for smoke inhalation after their home caught on fire in Vernon Hills Thursday afternoon, leaving it heavily damaged and uninhabitable.
The Countryside Fire Protection District was initially dispatched at around 3:05 p.m. Thursday to the 0-100 block of Annapolis Drive in Vernon Hills for an outside smoke investigation.
The call was then upgraded to a structure fire after a 911 caller reported seeing a house on fire in the 100 block of Annapolis Drive, according to fire department radio traffic.
Firefighters arrived and found heavy fire in the rear of a two-story single-family home that had extended into the living space and attic, Countryside Fire Protection District Lt. Mike Dovel said.
The residents had already evacuated the house before the fire department arrived.
One of the residents was evaluated by paramedics for smoke inhalation, but they did not require transport to the hospital, Dovel said.
“Due to the amount of fire, a MABAS [Mutual Aid Box Alarm System] box alarm was transmitted for additional resources,” Dovel said.
The box alarm brought in additional apparatus from fire departments in Lake County.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze in around 25 minutes.
“The home sustained heavy damage from the fire and was deemed uninhabitable,” Dovel said.
No one else was injured other than the one resident.
Crime scene tape was set up to block a portion of Annapolis Drive for several hours as police and fire investigators looked into the circumstances of the fire.
Fire officials are reminding residents to “close before you doze” by closing their bedroom door while sleeping, which helps slow the spread of heat and flames and provides valuable time if a fire happens.
The fire remains under investigation by the Countryside Fire Protection District.
The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal was reportedly called to the scene.
The state fire marshal is usually called in to support fire investigations involving peculiar circumstances, such as suspected arsons.
Lake & McHenry County Scanner has reached out to fire officials to learn more about the investigation into this fire.
The Countryside Fire Protection District was assisted at the scene by the Fox Lake, Grayslake, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, Long Grove, Mundelein, North Chicago and Wauconda fire departments.
The Buffalo Grove, Inverness, Lake Bluff and Greater Round Lake fire departments stood by at the Countryside Fire Protection District’s stations to cover other calls in the district.