Closed door limits fire damage in Round Lake

A fire damaged a Round Lake home Thursday evening, but fire officials say a closed bedroom door was key in containing the blaze.

Firefighters were called to the single-family, tri-level house on the 300 block of North Hillandale Drive just before 7 p.m., Round Lake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Tony Carraro said.

A backyard neighbor first saw the smoke and fire, and firefighters arrived to find flames on the exterior of the home and coming from a bedroom, Carraro said.

"The bedroom door was closed so it confined the damage to that room," he said. "It limited the damage tremendously."

Nobody was home at the time, and nobody was injured fighting the blaze, which was brought under control within 15 minutes, Carraro said.

Firefighters believe the fire began somewhere near the bedroom window. They say it could have been much worse.

"Smoke and heat damage would have traveled throughout the home," Carraro said. "When the door is closed, it limits fire travel in the home."

Several departments assisted: Grayslake, Fox Lake, Lake Villa, Antioch, Wauconda, Gurnee, Lake Zurich and Mundelein.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.