Algonquin firefighters battle two fires

Firefighters battled a pair of Saturday morning blazes that were less than a quarter-mile apart from each other in Algonquin, according to a news release. Nobody was injured in either blaze and both remain under investigation.

At 12:30 a.m., a neighbor reported seeing smoke and flames coming from the back of an abandoned one-story house in the 300 block of Glenwood Court.

The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District arrived five minutes later, put out the fire and remained on the scene to investigate until 4:30 a.m.

Two previous fires in 2012 and 2013 caused extensive damage to the house, and it has been empty ever since, authorities said. Officials are investigating it as a suspicious fire, Battalion Chief Mike Kern said.

Meanwhile, a homeowner in the 300 block of Crestwood Court reported the second fire at 3 a.m., which involved smoke and flames coming from the deck attached to the back of the single-story house.

Crews arrived a minute later and the fire was extinguished by 3:11 a.m. Personnel remained on the scene to investigate until 4:30 a.m.

The Illinois State Fire Marshal is helping with both investigations.

Also assisting Algonquin-Lake in the Hills were personnel from Huntley, Carpentersville, Crystal Lake, East Dundee, Elgin, Fox River Grove, Cary, Nunda, Rutland-Dundee and Barrington-Countryside fire departments.