Serious Fire in Attached Garage Damages Home on Norman Drive, McHenry

McHenry Township Fire Protection District firefighters responded about 11:00 a.m. Monday, June 5, 2017 to a report of a vehicle fire inside a garage attached to a house at 123 Norman Drive in McHenry. Police and firefighters received a report that the home was already evacuated at the time of the call for help. Upon arrival, firefighters found heavy fire coming from the three-car garage of a 2,400-square-foot home.

Fire command declared the fire under control or “knocked” by 11:09 a.m. and were able to quickly bring the fire completely under control by 11:22 a.m. Primary and secondary searches that the home was cleared of victims were also confirmed and completed by 11:22 a.m.

Six people were displaced by the fire, which caused an estimated $65,000 in damage and rendered the house temporarily uninhabitable, according to fire officials. The American Red Cross is assisting the residents displaced by the fire.

The house directly to the left and southwest of the fire was damaged by the fire, but residents in the second home were not displaced. Winds at O’Hare International Airport about the time of the fire were Northeast at 18 MPH with gusts to 24 MPH at 10:51 a.m., and Northeast at 22 MPH with gusts to 31 MPH at 11:51 a.m. Winds were a factor in the spread of the fire.

While the fire is under investigation, fire officials did not discover anything suspicious about the fire, and initially consider the fire was accidental.

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