Fire causes extensive damage to office building in Fox River Grove

More than a dozen fire protection districts responded Sunday morning to a blaze that significantly damaged a commercial office building in Fox River Grove.

The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District responded to a call at 12:40 a.m. Sunday of a fire at 400 Fox Glen Court. The Fox River Grove Police Department initially had been dispatched for a burglary alarm activation and observed flames coming from the roof of the office building upon arrival, according to a news release. Barrington Family Health Care medical clinic is listed at that address, located in the Fox Glen professional offices off Route 22 east of Route 14.

Firefighters performed a “360-degree structural assessment” and tried to attack the fire from the outside and inside as the flames ran “up the interior ridge line of the roof structure,” according to the release.

“These actions were hampered by significant weather outbreaks. The fire spread quickly and unchecked through inaccessible void spaces within the roof structure,” according to the release.

Thunderstorms were in the area before and during the firefighting.

The fire was upgraded from a Code 3 to a Code 4 alarm, and a Mutual Aid Box Alarm System was requested. The Barrington Countryside fire district and surrounding chief officers implemented a National Incident Management System Unified Command Post, according to the release.

Crews continued an aggressive fire attack for about three hours from the interior and ground-level exterior. Drone technology was used to assist in the fire attack plan, according to the release.

The fire was put out at 3:25 a.m., and crews were able to contain the fire where it broke out. The building sustained “significant water damage” and “significant roof damage,” according to the release. No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by BCFPD fire investigators, according to the release.

More than a dozen neighboring fire districts responded to assist in the call, including from Hoffman Estates, Wauconda, Long Grove, Buffalo Grove, Lake Zurich, Barrington, Cary, Fox River Grove, Palatine, Schaumburg, Streamwood, Huntley, Vernon Hills, Hanover Township, Mount Prospect, Wheeling, Deerfield and Inverness, as well as the Fox River Grove Police Department.