Fire damages Sleepy Hollow house; pet dog killed

Officials are still trying to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a home and took the life of a family dog Sunday evening in Sleepy Hollow.

Rutland-Dundee Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Randy Meyer said a neighbor living near the home in the 200 block of Hilltop Drive was cutting his lawn and saw smoke coming from a second-story window at about 5 p.m. and called 911.

The family who owns the home had left just an hour before to take one of their children to attend a college orientation in Kentucky, family friend Brett Muscat said.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, fire was discovered in the family room while smoke was pouring out of the home, Meyer said.

The fire was under control and extinguished in about 15 minutes, Meyer said. He added there is smoke and heat damage throughout the home, but that the fire was contained to the family room area.

The home is uninhabitable, he added.

Fire officials were unable to comment on the source of the blaze.

Muscat, who learned about the fire through a mutual friend, was on the scene quickly.

He says he helped the family, who had returned from their trip, bury Winston, the pet Weimaraner, in the backyard.

Muscat said he was also inside the home after the fire was extinguished. "Everything is black," he said. "Anything that was plastic just melted."

Officials did not yet have a full damage estimate available.

Firefighters from East Dundee, West Dundee, Carpentersville and Huntley were called in to help battle the blaze.