Fox Lake resident awakes to find his water bed on fire

A Fox Lake resident awoke to see his water bed on fire early Tuesday morning, fire officials said.

Brent Connelly, a Fox Lake Fire Protection District investigator, said the fire began about 2 a.m. in a basement bedroom in the 0 to 100 block of Ridgeland Avenue.

Officials believe a faulty water bed control unit ignited the carpet of the basement bedroom in the 2-story, single-family home, Connelly said.

A fire alarm in the home woke up the unidentified resident, who put out the fire with help from others in the rental home, officials said.

However, about an hour after the initial fire and while everyone was out of the basement waiting for the smoke to ventilate, the fire alarm went off again, Connelly said. This time, the resident went downstairs to check on the noise and saw a bedroom wall engulfed in flames.

"They called the fire department at that point and we came in and put out the blaze," he said. "The fire was contained to the basement, but because of the smoke and soot, the house is uninhabitable at this point."

Connelly said the fire is under investigation. Damage is estimated at about $80,000.