One person injured in Nippersink Lake blaze

Fox Lake fire officials blame a grill and high winds for nearly destroying a large house on the shores of Nippersink Lake in unincorporated Lake County.

Fox Lake Fire Protection District Chief Ron Hoehne said firefighters were called to the 27000 block of Lake Shore Drive at 9:48 p.m. Monday with reports a deck had caught fire.

When they arrived at the scene, Hoehne said, crews found three decks of the two-story house with a walkout basement had caught fire. In addition, the fire had started to sweep inside the house, and the wind had blown embers to a neighboring house that was also on the verge of igniting, he said.

Firefighters quickly put out the fire at the neighboring house, Hoehne said, and stopped the fire from advancing into the original house.

“The wind on the lake was pretty bad, which gave the guys some problems,” he said.

No residents were injured in the blaze, Hoehne said, but one firefighter was hurt after a piece of debris fell on him. That firefighter was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, checked out, and released Monday night.

Damage estimates for the house were unknown Tuesday, Hoehne said, but it was determined to be uninhabitable until it is repaired.

Firefighters from Lake Villa, Antioch, Round Lake, McHenry, Newport, Spring Grove, Richmond and Wauconda were brought in to assist Monday, he said.