Residents escape harm as early morning fire leaves Schaumburg homes uninhabitable
No one was injured in an early morning residential fire Sunday in the 200 block of Scarsdale Court in Schaumburg that left several coach homes uninhabitable.
Firefighters responded to a 3:54 a.m. report of a fire in the second-floor unit of an eight-unit cul-de-sac building. Two ladder trucks, four engines, four ambulances and a fire department squad responded to the fire along with at least five Schaumburg police cars.
Firefighters arrived on the scene at 3:59 a.m. and extinguished the fire by 4:28 a.m., according to Battalion Chief Tom Lally, who said the investigation into its origin is ongoing.
Upon arrival, firefighters encountered “heavy fire” with flames showing through the roof, said Lally. The fire was isolated to one second-floor unit, which he believes to be a total loss.
Initial calls reported people trapped, but firefighters found all the residents outside the building, said Lally. A subsequent search confirmed no one was left inside, he said.
Two cats were rescued from a neighboring unit that had sustained smoke and water damage, Lally added.
One couple, a man and woman wrapped in blankets and carrying their 9-month-old child, hurried to the car of a relative, who said he was the man’s father. He said his son smelled smoke, alerted his wife and evacuated their family.
Another woman clutching a small dog scurried from the area into a waiting car. Two other women, also wrapped in blankets with a cat in a carrier at their feet, gazed at the structure while firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
Smoke continued to billow from the second floor unit after the flames were extinguished. Firefighters carrying flashlights could be seen moving about inside the units.
Hanover Township Emergency Services and Hanover Park firefighters assisted the Schaumburg Fire Department, Lally said.
Several hours later, the coach home’s charred interior was visible from a sidewalk behind the unit. The roof had a gaping hole and furniture littered the front and backyards, while a grill tilted precariously on what was left of the second floor balcony. Several neighboring units were boarded up.