LITH fire leaves home uninhabitable
By CRYSTAL LINDELL
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clindell@nwherald.com
LAKE IN THE HILLS – A house fire Wednesday night claimed the life of a cat and left a home uninhabitable.
Crews responded to 117 Pheasant Trail, Lake in the Hills about 6 p.m. A fire had started on the bottom floor of the two-story house and smoke had traveled upstairs, said Assistant Chief John Gaughan with the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District.
Nobody was home when the fire started, but the owner’s cat didn’t escape the blaze.
Crews busted windows throughout the house as they worked to put out the fire, which took less than 10 minutes to extinguish. They were able to hook hoses up to a fire hydrant in the front yard.
One of the residents, who declined comment, got to the scene within about 45 minutes and was crying when she saw the house.
Property records list Paul J. Harrington as the owner.
Bob Henry, who lives across the street, made the 911 call. He said he heard a beeping sound, which he thought was a back-up alarm from a truck, and went outside to check on things.
He then realized it was the smoke detector.
“I immediately knew something was wrong,” he said. “I could hear the crackling of the fire inside the house. Smoke was coming out of every window.”
Fire crews took about 10 minutes to get to scene, Henry added.
“I was afraid somebody was inside,” he said.
A damage estimate was unavailable Wednesday night and crews still were working to find the cause of the fire, but foul play was not suspected.
Aside from Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, crews from Huntley, Crystal Lake and Cary also responded. Lake in the Hills Police also were on the scene.
