A detached garage was engulfed in flames and power lines were down after grass clippings self-ignited, spreading to the building near Round Lake Sunday evening, fire officials said.
The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District responded around 6:30 p.m. Sunday to the 24600 block of West Oak Street in unincorporated Round Lake for a report of a structure fire.
A resident in the area saw the fire and called 911, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Eric Hair said.
Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Charley Mitchell said the first fire unit arrived on the scene within six minutes and found heavy fire showing from a detached garage.
Fire department radio traffic indicated the garage was fully engulfed in flames, power lines were down and there was a report of vehicles inside the garage.
A box alarm was requested through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS), which brought in resources from fire departments across Lake and McHenry counties.
Firefighters had to run hose lines several blocks to reach a hydrant and Fairfield Road was closed, according to a bystander at the scene.
Power was out in the area, the bystander said.
Mitchell said crews brought the fire under control within about 30 minutes.
Crews remained on the scene to locate, extinguish and overhaul remaining hot spots hidden within the structure due to the significant damage.
No injuries were reported at the scene, Mitchell said.
The Grayslake, Fox Lake, Wauconda, Lake Villa, Antioch, Countryside, McHenry, Lake Zurich, Mundelein, Spring Grove, Nunda and Gurnee fire departments assisted during the incident.
Hair said Tuesday that the garage was being used to store various items for property maintenance.
“The investigators determined that grass clippings had self-ignited and extended to the adjacent garage,” Hair said.
No adjacent structures were damaged, he said. A damage estimate was not immediately available.