Blaze scorches home in Wauconda Township
Two people escaped unharmed after fire broke out Thursday in a home at 27983 N. Forest Garden Road in an unincorporated area of Wauconda Township.
Battalion Chief Robert Rucker of the Wauconda Fire Department said his department responded to an alarm that came in at 6:12 p.m.
Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from the eaves of the ranch home, which is located near the end of a dead- end road. The fire was extinguished at 8:49 p.m., Rucker said.
Firefighters used tankers to bring in water because of the lack of fire hydrants in the area. Wauconda was assisted by fire departments from Cary, Fox Lake, Lake Zurich, Mundelein, Nunda and Round Lake.
Rucker said the cause of the fire appeared to be an older model natural gas-fired heater. The fire broke out in a wall of a recreation room near where the heater was installed. The room had been converted into living space from a garage.
A man and woman were home at the time. Rucker said the man was leaving the house when he saw the fire through a back window and called the fire department.
The couple made arrangements to stay with friends, as the home is not habitable, Rucker said.