Carpentersville family loses home, pets, belongings in fire

The leaves from two trees overhanging the remains of 428 Blackhawk Drive in Carpentersville are brown and withered. A large trash container sits in the driveway, full of soggy clothes and pieces of furniture. The refrigerator, shiny and new just a year ago, is now blackened, scorched by the flames that tore through the house late Monday night.

George Thorne and his daughter Polly shoveled their possessions into wheelbarrows headed for the garbage on Thursday, salvaging what they could. Looking around, Thorne recalled what the rooms looked like just days before.

"The living room was kind of an ugly violet. We couldn't stand it, but that's what my wife wanted. The bedroom was a light blue, this bedroom was green," he said, pointing.

Thorne bought the house on Blackhawk Drive in November of 1969. He reared his now five grown kids there, mourned his wife's death. With the exception of some Christmas decorations and miscellaneous belongings that were in storage, everything Thorne had was burned on Monday. What's worse, Thorne hasn't had homeowner's insurance for 15 years.

Carpentersville Fire Chief John Schuldt said the department is accepting donations large and small for the Thorne family as they move forward.

"Every penny that is donated to George and his family will go to him," Schuldt said. "One hundred percent."

For now, Thorne and a son and daughter who still live at home are staying at an empty house in Algonquin owned by Thorne's boss at American Airlines, where Thorne has worked for 34 years. He said they at least have the place through the winter, giving him time to plan. From there, Thorne would like to rebuild in the same location.

"I think I've got one of the better neighborhoods in town," Thorne said.

His neighbor José Cintrón is the one who first told him about the fire. Thorne left Blackhawk Drive just after 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 13, heading toward Crystal Lake to take his daughter to work, leaving the house empty. Cintrón noticed the flames around 11:15 p.m. and by the time he picked up his phone to call 911 the fire trucks had already arrived.

"I saw a yellow glow, so I came out and saw flames coming out the top," Cintrón said. Most of the roof had already fallen in.

Firefighters had the flames under control by 11:45 but not before they had consumed the house. The fire department determined Wednesday the cause was electrical, started by one of the kitchen appliances. No one in the family was hurt but at least three dogs and three cats perished in the blaze.

After digging for hours on Thursday through piles of the wet, black mess that is now her room, Thorne's daughter found Henry -- the cat she bottle-fed when it was a sickly kitten 10 years ago. The Thornes had hoped Henry escaped from a broken window before the fire got too bad.

"I kept hoping Henry went out that window," Thorne said. "I was hoping he was just scared and hiding or something."

Carpentersville firefighters dug three graves in the Thorne's backyard. Three dogs went into one, two cats in another and Henry in a third.

Looking around what's left of his house brings tears to Thorne's eyes. He sees a corner hutch in the living room, blackened from the fire. He saved it from his father's house before it was torn down years ago.

"Now that's gone too," he said.

To helpIf you're interested in helping the Thorne family recover from the fire that wiped out their home and possessions, you can:bull; Call the Carpentersville Fire Department at (847) 426-2131;bull; Mail donations to Carpentersville Fire Department, 213 Spring St., Carpentersville, 60110;bull; Drop off contributions at any time. Cash or gift cards would be more useful than clothes; donors should specify that their money is for George Thorne and his family.False20001333Singed belongings sit in what remains of the Thorne's Carpentersville house.Brian Hill | Staff PhotographerFalse <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Stories</h2><ul class="links"><li><a href="/story/?id=408082">Carpentersville fire destroys home <span class="date">[09/14/10]</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div>