Sycamore house uninhabitable after Tuesday fire

SYCAMORE – Firefighters needed an alternate plan of attack early Tuesday after a fire burned through the floors of a home in the city's Heron Creek subdivision.

Firefighters responded about 5:20 a.m. to a two-story, single-family house at 492 John Marshall Lane in Sycamore after a passer-by called 911 to report smoke coming from a home in the area, Sycamore Assistant Fire Chief Art Zern said.

“The first crew stretched a [hose] to the front door and encountered a large hole in the floor inside,” Zern said. “Thankfully, they didn’t fall through it, but they did back out because they were concerned.”

Firefighters entered the home through a rear basement door and found flames had spread to all three levels of the home. The single occupant of the home was not present at the time of the fire, Zern said. It is possible the fire burned overnight until the passer-by called 911.

It took firefighters more than an hour to get the blaze under control, and two firefighters suffered minor injuries in the effort, Zern said. They did not need to be hospitalized.

The Illinois State Fire Marshal and Sycamore firefighters are investigating the fire’s cause, but the fire’s origin was not thought to be suspicious Tuesday afternoon, Zern said. Firefighters were on the scene for about four hours Tuesday morning.

Zern estimated the fire caused $250,000 in damage. The home is uninhabitable.

Firefighters from DeKalb, Cortland, Maple Park, Genoa-Kingston, Kirkland, Malta and Hampshire assisted Sycamore firefighters on the scene and crews from Elburn and Burlington covered the Sycamore Fire Department’s area during the incident. Sycamore police were also present.