Haunted Haven fire in Rock Falls ruled accidental, electrical in nature

ROCK FALLS – The cause of a fire that destroyed a haunted house attraction in rural Rock Falls on Monday afternoon has been deemed an accidental fire that was electrical in nature, Rock Falls fire Chief Ken Wolf said.

The Rock Falls and Sterling fire departments and CGH EMS were dispatched at 1:14 p.m. Monday to the Haunted Haven barn, 29038 Grennan Road, for a report of a fire. The first arriving firefighting crews reported a large barn with heavy fire on the second floor. The Dixon Rural, Dixon city, Amboy, Tampico, Harmon, Morrison, Prophetstown, Fulton, Milledgeville and Polo fire departments were dispatched to provide mutual aid.

Fifteen minutes after firefighters were called to the scene, the building collapsed. An excavator was requested to go to the scene to remove rubble and to aid in extinguishing flames.

On Friday, twisted metal, rubble and ash were all that remained at the site.

Melissa Schultz, Haunted Haven’s owner, said she and her husband, Joseph Norton, discovered the fire. They had gone to the Haunted Haven barn Monday to pick up some tools and a lawn mower when they noticed smoke coming from the second floor.

“It all happened so fast,” Schultz said. “I’m still trying to process it, and I don’t have the words. We jumped in the truck and pulled away as I called 911. I was hoping since it was just the upstairs it could be saved.”

The fire led to a complete loss for Schultz, who was renting the barn and had no insurance to cover all of the props, costumes, tools and other supplies she had been collecting since starting Haunted Haven. The attraction began in Schultz’s home 15 years ago before the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office told her to move to a bigger location or close, she said.

Haunted Haven is known for its new scares and thrills that await guests each year. With interactive rooms, guests were placed in the middle of frightening experiences that included fog, scents and lights.

“This could have been worse,” Schultz said. “It could have happened on any given Saturday when me and my actors are here fixing stuff with the music blaring. I’m glad it was just me and Joey, but on the other hand, I wish I wasn’t here to see it because I sat here and just watched, and it was the worst feeling in the world.”

Since the fire, some of Schultz’s actors have set up a GoFundMe account to help recoup some of Schultz’s losses, but even if she raises the money, she still faces the challenge of finding a new location.

“I’m in dire need of a new location, even if it’s so much as a store,” Schultz said. “Just a building where we can make a new home for Haunted Haven.”

To donate or offer help, reach out to Melissa Schultz through the Haunted Haven Facebook page.

“We lost everything, and I just don’t know where to go from here,” Schultz said. “But after we cried and cried, we needed a plan because, are we just going to die? Are we just done? I don’t want to be done.”