Fire destroys Round Lake grocery store; cause unknown

Marcos Fernandez said he had started to doze off when his dog ran into the room begging to go outside.

"I couldn't understand it because he never needs to go out that late," Fernandez said. "Then my father busted into my room and said we had to get out because the building was on fire."

Fernandez and his father were living in a corner basement apartment of Mendoza Grocery Store, 515 N. Cedar Lake Road in Round Lake, when the fire hit just after midnight.

"We all ran out, and I looked up and saw fire shooting from the building," he said. "I was amazed and phoned the fire department."

Firefighters are investigating the cause of the fire and say weather was not a factor, but arson has not been ruled out, Round Lake Area Fire Protection District Chief Paul Maplethorpe said. No one was injured.

"Thankfully, the apartments and the store were empty, so firefighters attacked the fire and worked to get it under control," Maplethorpe said.

Flames had completely engulfed an apartment over the grocery store when firefighters arrived. As they moved into position, they noticed a portion of the roof had collapsed and the rest was ready to give way, he said. A box alarm was called to bring in specialized crews to stabilize the structure.

"The technical team was brought in to ensure the rest of the building didn't collapse around us," he said. "We also called in a second alarm to bring more fire equipment and crews to help battle the flames."

Fire departments from Fox Lake, Lake Villa, Antioch Grayslake, Wauconda, Newport, Gurnee, Countryside, Libertyville, Lake Zurich, Barrington, McHenry Township, Mundelein, and Lake Villa Rescue were called to the scene to battle the fire or provide station coverage in Round Lake. Technicians from Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, Zion, Buffalo Grove and Lake Forest helped stabilize the structure.

The fire was under control within an hour, but crews remained on the scene until 9:30 a.m. to shore up the building and prevent it from collapsing.

A damage estimate isn't known, Maplethorp said, but there was extensive fire damage throughout the building.

"Everyone from the many different departments came together and did a lot of hard work in the rough, rainy conditions," he said.

As for Fernandez, he said he is staying with his sister in Round Lake for now. He said he lost everything in the fire.

"I have nothing right now, but friends have called offering to help me out," he said. "I'm just glad no one was hurt."