Fire leaves Barrington-area family homeless, kills dog

An early-morning house fire Wednesday near Barrington left a family of four homeless and killed their pet dog, authorities said.

Investigators believe the blaze at 115 S. Deerpath Road was started by embers left over from a fire in a first-floor fireplace, Palatine Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Gratzianna said.

Gratzianna said investigators believe the embers, which were still hot when discovered hours later, caused nearby cardboard boxes to catch fire. Although the fireplace was on the first floor, the embers were found in the basement in an ash box connected to the fireplace by a chute.

According to the fire department, it took a team of 33 firefighters about 20 minutes to put out the fire, which was reported about 1:30 a.m. in an area near Barrington and Deer Park, just south of Lake-Cook Road.

Deputy Fire Chief William Gabrenya said the family, a father, mother and two teenage children, was out of the house safely when firefighters arrived at 1:37 a.m.

Gabrenya said the father reported waking up to a loud banging sound and the smell of smoke. After getting his family out of the house, he made several desperate attempts to rescue the family dog from the basement. He was only able to make it a few feet before being overcome by smoke, fire officials said.

The first firefighters to enter the house found the dog dead from smoke inhalation in the basement.

Because the house is located in an area without fire hydrants, firefighters had to fill their tanker trucks with water from a hydrant about a mile away and rush the water to a temporary water tank on the scene, according to the fire department.

Authorities did not have a damage estimate Wednesday, but Gabrenya said there was significant damage to the basement, which was furnished with a family room and an office, and smoke damage throughout the house.

"It is very hard for the family to have to go through this, especially during the holidays," Gabrenya said, adding that it could take as long as six months for the house to be habitable again.

Gratzianna said the dog who died had competed several times in agility competitions. He said he did not know the breed of the dog.