Dogs die, but 5 people rescued from burning home

Two dogs were killed but five people were successfully rescued from a second-story deck after fire struck a single-family home near Lincolnshire around noon Thursday.

One of the people rescued was a wheelchair-bound woman who was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with non-life-threatening injuries, said Scott Knesley, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District battalion chief.

Firefighters received the call to the 23000 block of Apple Hill Lane in unincorporated Lake County at 12:02 p.m.

When the first units approached the house, they saw a large fire on the left side of the second floor.

An engine and ladder company immediately focused on rescuing the five people trapped on the upper level deck at the rear of the house. All were evacuated by ladder, Knesley said.

The fire took about an hour to control, with Lincolnshire-Riverwoods receiving assistance from Buffalo Grove, Long Grove, Countryside, Lake Forest, Lake Zurich, Wheeling and Libertyville.

Both the cause and point of origin of the fire remained under investigation late Thursday, Knesley said.

No damage estimate was available, but the house is currently uninhabitable, he added.