Truck repair mishap causes house fire near Pingree Grove
Pete Marek was using a grinder Tuesday morning to prep the frame of his 1959 Chevy Apache pickup truck for some suspension work when it threw a spark and started a fire in his garage.
Marek grabbed the fire extinguisher, but it didn't work.
"I ran into the house, told my wife to call 911, grabbed the kids and ran out the front door," he said.
"Everything is a blur. I don't remember anything."
The hot rod, which Marek said was about 90 percent restored, was damaged in the fire, along with his chopper, his Lexus and the family's Honda.
"My real babies are next door with the neighbors right now," Marek said. "But that was one of my babies, as they say."
Marek, his wife and two small children have lived in the two-story home on the 40W500 block of Prairie Court between Gilberts and Pingree Grove for seven years.
Their unincorporated neighborhood has no fire hydrants.
Firefighters from at least 15 departments showed up to tame the blaze, providing a relay of tanker trucks to bring in water.
Marek said he did much of the interior work on the house himself.
"It's sad," Marek said, nursing his burned knuckles. "I put so much work into this house. But I'll do it all again. I'll rebuild."
For now, Marek said his family will stay with his in-laws in Barrington.
Among the fire departments at the scene are: Rutland-Dundee, Hampshire, Huntley, Hoffman Estates, West Dundee, East Dundee, Carpentersville, Pingree Grove, St. Charles, Elburn, Elgin, Burlington, South Elgin, Bartlett and Genoa-Kingston.
Traffic is blocked off near the subdivision, which is near Route 72 and Big Timber Road.
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