A 61-year-old woman is facing arson charges after prosecutors say she intentionally started two houses on fire across the street from each other, endangering first responders and residents while causing significant damage.
Kristin Nice, 61, of Marengo, was charged with two counts of residential arson, a Class 1 felony.
The Marengo Fire & Rescue Districts and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 9:52 p.m. on July 13 to the 18000 block of Millstream Road in unincorporated Marengo for a report of a structure fire.
Marengo Fire & Rescue Districts Public Information Officer Alex Vucha said firefighters arrived and found flames showing from the rear of a single-family residence.
The active fire conditions prompted the incident to be upgraded to a Working Fire response to bring additional resources to the scene.
Firefighters entered the home while other fire crews made their way to the rear of the residence to extinguish flames on the rear deck, Vucha said.
All occupants had safely evacuated the home before firefighters arrived.
Vucha said firefighters quickly extinguished the bulk of the fire but it had already spread into the attic.
They had to open portions of the roof and ceiling to locate and extinguish hidden fire. The fire was declared under control in approximately 45 minutes.
A short time into the incident, occupants from a neighboring home across the street alerted first responders at the scene that their home was also on fire, Vucha said.
The incident was upgraded through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) to the box alarm level to bring additional firefighters and water supply resources to the area.
Firefighters responded to the neighboring home and found a small fire on the exterior of the residence.
The homeowner had already extinguished most of the fire before firefighters arrived, Vucha said.
Firefighters removed sections of exterior siding to ensure the fire had not spread to the interior of the home.
Vucha said both homes were occupied at the time of the incidents and all occupants had safely evacuated without injury.
The first house sustained fire damage to the rear deck, attic, roof and portions of the home’s exterior and was deemed uninhabitable.
Damage to the second home was limited to the exterior siding and remained habitable, Vucha said.
The Marengo Fire & Rescue Districts, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal began an investigation into both fires that evening.
The investigation led to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewing the case and approving the charges against Nice last week.
An arrest warrant was obtained for Nice on Thursday and she was served with the warrant on Wednesday.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Nice knowingly and intentionally started a fire on the northwest portions of both residences.
Nice lives on the same street where the fires occurred. Prosecutors did not give any motive for the incident.
Court records show Nice had been on pre-trial release for residential burglary and aggravated assault of a peace officer from an incident that occurred in June at the time she allegedly committed arson.
Nice was then charged with violating a stalking no-contact order on July 28 and the state’s attorney’s office filed a petition to revoke her pre-trial release in her first case as well as a petition to detain in the new case.
McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis continued a hearing on that petition to revoke her pre-trial release until last Friday, at which time Nice failed to appear in court and another warrant was issued.
Nice stipulated to all of the petitions to hold her in custody filed by the state’s attorney’s office when she appeared in court on Wednesday, agreeing that she would be held in custody pending trial.
“Two homes were allegedly set on fire in a residential neighborhood, putting families, neighbors, and first responders at risk,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said.
“The allegations here, particularly when considered alongside this woman’s other pending felony cases, demonstrate exactly why we sought detention. When someone’s conduct continues to escalate and threatens the safety of an entire neighborhood, we will act aggressively to protect the community,” Freese said.
Nice is scheduled to appear in court again on September 4.