Investigators searching for the cause and source of fatal Antioch Township fire
The cause of an Antioch Township house fire that resulted in the death of a 76-year-old resident remained under investigation Monday.
Extensive damage to the house on the 38000 block of North Drexel Boulevard in an unincorporated area near Grass Lake has hampered the effort to determine a cause of the Sunday morning blaze that was battled by 15 departments, Antioch Fire Department Chief John Nixon said.
An investigative team from the fire department and Lake County Sheriff's Office was evaluating information and interviewing residents, he said.
The three-story frame house was a total loss, with damage estimated at $180,000, according to Nixon. Firefighters using a ladder truck pulled resident Lowell B. Simonson from an upper story room in the burning structure, he said. Simonson was in cardiac arrest and was taken to Centegra Hospital-McHenry, where he was pronounced dead. His wife, Patricia Simonson, 74, also was taken to Centegra with smoke inhalation. Her condition was upgraded from serious to fair Monday.
The couple's daughter and three grandchildren were treated for minor injuries at the scene and released. A firefighter also was treated for a sprained ankle, Nixon said.
“He was a good guy,” neighbor Carl Dunfrund said of Lowell Simonson. “I knew the family for a long time.”
Dunfrund said the family has lived in the home since 1969, and Lowell Simonson was a 20-year Navy veteran.
Emergency calls began coming in at 10:19 a.m. Sunday.
“We had several calls to 911 from the neighborhood saying flames were showing from the house and there were several people,” inside, Nixon said. “The occupants, except for the elderly male were outside of the house. He was trapped on the upper level of the residence.”
Nixon said there were oxygen tanks in the home but they are not believed to be the source of the fire.
Neighbor Charlie Wilberg said he has never seen a fire of that size and intensity.
“I looked out my back door and I saw a huge, big cloud of smoke. At first, I thought the forest preserve was doing a (controlled) burn,” he said.
Twenty-two pieces of equipment and 55 personnel from several departments fought the fast-moving fire.
“It's an unincorporated area with no fire hydrants. We brought water to the scene using tanker trucks. There were 12 of those (and) a total of 88,000 gallons of water,” Nixon said.
The fire was the first involving a fatality this year in the district's 36-square mile coverage area, which includes the village and surrounding areas, officials said.
Three children in the family were left homeless but they will be allowed to remain in the schools they attended regardless of where they have to move because of the situation, according to Matt Tabar, a commissioner with the First Fire Protection District. Crisis teams were put in place, clothing drives are being initiated, and the students were provided with school supplies and backpacks, he added.