No one injured in Round Lake Heights house fire

Firefighters from 16 suburban departments worked together to fight a stubborn house fire just south of Fairfield and Rollins roads in Round Lake Heights late Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District Fire Chief Greg Formica said a Round Lake Heights police officer was out on a routine patrol at about 6:30 p.m. Monday when he noticed smoke on the 3500 block of Fairfield Road. When fire crews arrived at about 6:38 p.m., the single-story home was ablaze.

Formica said firefighters rushed into the home to check if the house was empty and attack the fire. No one was home when the fire started, Formica said. He said the fire conditions were bad enough that crews left the house and fought the fire from outside.

After a few hours, the fire was extinguished and the crews dispersed at around 11 p.m., Formica said. But overnight, some materials at the home reignited so crews rushed back to the scene at 1:05 a.m. Formica said firefighters were there the second time until about 3:30 a.m.

Formica said the homeowner arrived after firefighters were already on scene. He said the house is boarded up and secure.

“We're just happy no one was hurt and all the pets were out of the house,” Formica said.

Because the home was in an area not serviced by fire hydrants, crews had to set up a rural water supply system. Six tankers were tasked with loading up on water and trucking it to the scene throughout the night. Formica said crews used about 60,000 gallons of water to fight the fire.

Investigators were still at the home Tuesday trying to determine what caused the fire, Formica said.