Water, smoke damage Huntley house after car fire ignites in garage

Three cars were torched and a home was left uninhabitable after one of the vehicles ignited Sunday afternoon while in a closed garage near Huntley, fire officials said.

Twenty-three fire agencies responded in the effort to fight the blaze in the single-family ranch home on the 11600 block of Hawthorne Way.

An older-model car was running in the home's closed three-car garage when it somehow ignited, spreading flames throughout the garage and onto the roof, Huntley Fire Captain John Winkelman said.

Winkelman said the family occasionally ran the car to make sure it would continue to start.

The fire was contained to the garage, but the home received smoke and water damage throughout, fire officials said.

Firefighters heard multiple explosions during the fight, as gasoline and propane tanks blew up in the garage, Winkelman said.

No firefighters or any of the three residents were injured.

Crews reached the house, located about three miles north of Huntley, 10 minutes after the call came in, Winkelman said.

It took about 40 minutes to bring the fire under control, as firefighters had to cut holes in the garage doors to let heat and smoke escape the attached garage.

The Red Cross was on the scene Sunday afternoon helping the family make living arraignments.

The fire remains under investigation, but a damage estimate was not available Sunday.