2 Dogs, 2 Residents Flee Lake Forest Fire

LAKE FOREST, IL — The Lake Forest Fire Department extinguished a basement fire early Friday morning. Around 2:52 a.m., residents reported their house had begun filling up with smoke. Fire officials said a woman, a man and their two dogs managed to safely evacuate the home.

When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke throughout the first floor and determined the fire had begun in the basement. The fire was confined to the basement and quickly extinguished. Firefighters cleared smoke from the building, but it took about 30 minutes to investigate all the hidden places in the house and make sure the fire was completely out, according to Battalion Chief Mike Gallo.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. It caused $50,000 damage, according to preliminary estimates. There were no injuries to members of the public or emergency personnel. Gallo said there was some smoke damage on the first floor and some structural damage to the home, but most of the damage was to the contents of the basement. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Lake Forest — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Lake Forest firefighters were assisted by several other area departments, including Lake Bluff, Deerfield, Northbrook, North Chicago, Knollwood, Countryside and Libertyville, according to Gallo.

The fire occurred in the "north central" area of the city, according to a news release. Gallo said the Lake Forest Fire Department does not disclose locations of fires, "due to the fact there have been some burglaries" of burned homes.

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