Smoke detectors, quick firefighter response prevent injuries in McHenry home converted to apartments

Smoke detectors in a home converted into apartments alerted residents early Monday morning to fire in McHenry, allowing them to escape injury, the McHenry Township Fire Protection District said in a news release.

Firefighters were called at 2:30 a.m. to the 1300 block of Park Street for a reported structure fire. Crews arriving within three minutes found heavy smoke coming from the wood frame home’s basement. Residents in the home’s three apartment units were sleeping when the fire broke out and woke to the smoke detectors. Firefighters searched the home for additional occupants while bringing a hose line into the basement, where the fire was found, according to the release.

The fire was under control in about 20 minutes, according to Battalion Chief Ryan Mastandrea, and crews remained on scene for about two hours.

The fire’s cause is still under investigation. No residents or firefighters were injured, but the house was left uninhabitable, officials said.

McHenry Township Fire was aided by a Rapid Intervention Team from Crystal Lake, and firefighter crews from Cary, Woodstock, Lake Villa and Round Lake.