No one hurt as fire destroys Algonquin house

Staring at her gutted Algonquin home Friday, Patricia Livesay-Smith was certain the last memories of her son, Matthew Collura, were lost in the flames.

That was until a firefighter handed Livesay-Smith a charred photo album recovered from the smoking remnants of her two-story home on Helen Drive.

"This is all I wanted out of there," said Livesay-Smith, smiling through tears as she opened the album displaying slightly damaged photos of Matthew, who died six years ago in a motorcycle crash. He was 23. "This, and a teddy bear his fiancee made me out of his clothes."

But the teddy bear was likely among the countless belongings destroyed in Friday's fire that broke out just after 11 a.m. The house is across the street from a home destroyed by fire six months ago.

Livesay-Smith's husband, Todd Smith, said he was home alone working on a computer in an upstairs office when he heard two pops.

"By the time I got downstairs, the entire back of the house was on fire,"said Smith, who operated an audio and video equipment repair business from the home.

"It started outside on the porch but there is nothing there that I can figure that could have started it," Smith said.

Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District Chief Steve Guetschow said emergency crews arrived at 11:13 a.m. and saw flames coming from the back of the house."As we were preparing for that fire, fire broke out on the first and second floors," Guetschow said. "The whole back of the house is demolished. It's gone."Investigators have not yet determined a cause.Guetschow did say he does not believe today's fire is related to the April 28 fire across the street that destroyed the home and killed four pets.In that case, the family of six, including three children, were not home at the time. That fire originated in a laundry room on the first floor before spreading upstairs to the bedrooms. Firefighters Friday responded from Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, Crystal Lake, Marengo, Cary, Woodstock, Huntley, West Dundee, Elgin and Pingree Grove fire departments. 512341Firefighters put out more hotspots near the back of the home on Helen Drive in Algonquin Friday morning.Christopher Hankins | Staff Photographer 512328Firefighters assess the situation as smoke pours from the rear of the house where the heaviest damage was sustained.Christopher Hankins | Staff Photographer 434512A pair of firefighters use caution while leaning in to get a better angle of a hot spot while battling the house fire.Christopher Hankins | Staff Photographer 512441Homeowner Patricia Livesay-Smith holds the only thing she saved from her home before it burned, a family photo album. Her son, Michael Collura, looks at the photos with her near the scene Friday.Christopher Hankins | Staff Photographer 512338Several fire departments responded to the fire on Helen Drive in Algonquin, creating a maze of water lines in front of the home.Christopher Hankins | Staff Photographer <div style="float:right;margin:0 0 6px 0;"> <div class="moreHeader"> More Coverage </div> <div class="moreHolder"> <div style="margin:6px;text-wrap:auto;"> <div class="moreSubHead"> Video </div> <ul class="moreVideo"> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=9&type=video&item=257" class="mediaItem">Algonquin house fire </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>