Fire crews respond in 4 minutes to garage blaze that reached occupied house siding near Wauconda

Firefighters reached a fully involved detached garage within four minutes Saturday night near Wauconda, then worked to stop flames that had begun moving toward siding on an adjacent occupied house.

The Wauconda Fire Protection District was called to the 28500 block of North Jackson Avenue in unincorporated Wauconda at about 10:53 p.m. on October 24. Radio traffic records water on the fire at 11:01 p.m. Battalion Chief John Spratt said crews used a hose line to cool the residence first, then turned to the garage.

Spratt said water reached the fire within about two minutes of arrival and the blaze had stopped spreading about five minutes after that. The district's three stations responded, and ladder trucks from the Countryside and McHenry Township fire protection districts, along with crews from Greater Round Lake, Grayslake, Nunda Rural and Fox River Grove, assisted at the scene.

Spratt said the fire district's Station 1 was covered by other departments while crews worked at the house, a practice known as a change of quarters. Companies were returned to service as they were released from the scene.

No firefighters, homeowners or pets were hurt, Spratt said. The residence took some exterior damage, and the homeowners can still occupy it. A neighbor who watched from a front porch up the street said the garage had been "tilting for a long time." Another neighbor living next door called it "pretty scary to watch."

Investigators have not determined the cause. Fire officials preliminarily believe lawn equipment used earlier in the day ignited inside the garage, Spratt said. He said the homeowners did not see the fire start because they were inside the house. Crews stayed at the site until about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, and a damage estimate was not immediately available.