Antioch fire causes $35,000 damage to home, careless smoking blamed, officials said

Careless smoking is blamed for a fire that caused about $35,000 in damage to an Antioch house, officials said.

Antioch Fire Department Chief John Nixon said a renter of the home in the 200 block of Hazelwood Drive accidentally flicked a cigarette into some mulch, which simmered for about three hours Wednesday before igniting and starting the home on fire.

Nixon said firefighters from the Antioch Fire Protection District were called to the home about 12:30 p.m., and saw flames on the outside wall, siding, and the attic of the single-story home.

The fire was put out relatively quickly, but not before causing about $35,000 in damage to the attic and bedroom, he said.

“He attempted to put the cigarette out in a bucket of sand, but he missed the bucket and it landed in some mulch,” Nixon said. “The resident tried to put it out until a police officer told him to back off and called the fire department.”

The home was deemed uninhabitable after the fire was snuffed out, he said.

The occupant was not injured in the fire, but did suffer an asthma attack after doing a walk through of the home with fire officials after the blaze was out. He was treated at the scene by emergency workers from the Antioch Rescue Squad, Nixon said.

Antioch Fire Protection District received mutual aid from firefighters from Fox Lake, Lake Villa, Newport Fire, Spring Grove and from Salem, Wis.