Fire At Vacant Lake Forest House Causes $400,000 In Damage

LAKE FOREST, IL — Firefighters extinguished a blaze early Wednesday that caused an estimated $400,000 in damage to a vacant house. The Lake Forest Fire Department was called around 3:30 a.m. for a report of a house on fire on the east side of town, according to a release. Crews arrived to find flames and smoke coming out of the back of a single-family home.

Firefighters attacked the fire while conducing an initial search, which revealed no one inside. The fire had a "significant head start," according to the release from Battallion Chief Matthew Penar, so crews adopted a defensive strategy. Most of the fire was extinguished from outside the house before crews went inside to confirm it was completely out.

No injuries were reported to any firefighters or residents, and no information was available Thursday about the possible cause or origin of the fire.

Assistance was provided by the Deerfield, Knollwood, Highland Park, Libertyville, Lincolnshire and Mundelein fire departments, while personnel from Wheeling and Lake Bluff covered other calls in Lake Forest during the incident.

As a matter of policy, Lake Forest fire officials do not specify where fires occur, citing risks to property from burglars who have targeted burned homes in the past.