Lake Villa fire setter caught on security camera

A man who apparently set a Lake Villa home ablaze Friday night was caught on a security camera system using a "possible accelerant and road flare," authorities said Saturday.

Lake Villa police are pursuing leads they hope will bring them to the suspect, a white man in his late teens or 20s wearing a black hooded sweatshirt or jacket, Chief Ron Roth said.

The man is suspected of starting the fire about 7:25 p.m. Friday at a two-story house in the 300 block of Woodhill Lane. The fire rendered the residence uninhabitable, Lake Villa fire Lt. Doug Slazes said.

The house had "significant damage" and "had to be boarded up," he said.

Security footage and still photos show the suspect walking toward the home from its back deck and setting fire to the outside wall of the kitchen, authorities said. The camera then shows him fleeing south toward Monaville Road.

Roth said police believe the suspect fled in a vehicle, not on foot, because the area is somewhat rural. Investigators are asking anyone who may have seen the suspect or a suspicious vehicle to call (847) 356-6106.

Police are adding extra patrols in the area, Roth said.

No one was home at the time of the fire and no one was injured. Lake Villa firefighters put out the flames in about a half-hour, Slazes said.