Three-story house in Lakemoor remains uninhabitable following Friday blaze

High humidity, the size of the home, and not having nearby fire hydrants hampered firefighters as they attacked a fire Friday in Lakemoor, a McHenry Township Fire Protection District battalion chief said.

The home was left uninhabitable, but a damage estimate was not available, according to officials.

Firefighters were called at 1:25 p.m. Friday to the 2000 block of Cuhlman Road for a structure fire. On arrival, about five minutes later, emergency responders found a large, three-story house with fire coming from the attached garage and traveling up the wood-shaker roof to the interior third floor. Firefighters began working to douse the blaze and search the 10,000-square-foot residence, Battalion Chief David Harwood said.

All residents had evacuated the house, and mutual aid was called to bring in several other fire departments. "The fire was difficult to extinguish due to several factors, including the size of the residence, the heat and humidity, and that there were no fire hydrants," Harwood said in a news release.

The fire was under control by 3:04 p.m. and completely out by 3:42 p.m., Harwood said, adding fire investigators cleared the scene at 5:28 p.m.

Assistance was provided by Crystal Lake, Cary, Lake Villa, Round Lake, Spring Grove, Fox Lake, Woodstock, Wonder Lake, Richmond, Wauconda, Nunda, Huntley, Marengo, Fox River Grove, Hebron, Grayslake, Harvard, Twin Lakes, Mundelein, Lake Zurich, Union, Beach Park, South Elgin, East Dundee, Carpentersville, West Dundee and Randal, Wisconsin, fire departments and fire protection districts. Other departments either aided on scene or covered other calls in the McHenry Township Fire District while the fire was extinguished.

One firefighter was evaluated for heat exhaustion but was not transported to the hospital, Harwood said, adding no other injuries were reported.

The fire's cause remains under investigation.