3 Houses Burn In Extra-Alarm Northbrook Fire

NORTHBROOK, IL — A multiple-alarm fire broke out Wednesday morning in the 2500 block of Melanie Lane in Northbrook. All residents were able to evacuate safely and no rescuers were injured as a fire in one home spread to two neighboring homes, according to Fire Chief Andy Carlson.

Fire crews were dispatched around 6:20 a.m., with some callers reporting an explosion at the Stonegate subdivision east of I-294 and north of Willow Road, Carlson said.

An off-duty Northbrook firefighter was the first rescuer on scene, according to the chief, with the first engine arriving at 6:28 a.m. to find one house engulfed in flames and homes on either side beginning to catch fire.

"The houses on that block are only 25 to 30 feet apart," Carlson said. "So with the extensive fire in the original building, the radiant heat was enough to start the neighboring houses on fire, so we were working on trying to limit that."

Firefighters immediately raised the alarm, calling in about a dozen area departments for mutual aid. Crews had extinguished the fire by 9 a.m., but some hot spots remained.

The Northbrook chief said the primary house was completely destroyed. One neighboring house suffered extensive damage, especially to the second floor. The other neighbor's house was not damaged as badly.

"No firefighters were injured out here," Carlson said. "They did a good job stopping it where they did."

All residents were accounted for and the cause remains under investigation. Melanie Lane remained closed as Northbrook fire investigators were expected to remain on scene throughout the day and potentially longer, according to the chief.

Video of the fire. pic.twitter.com/z9kkD3ua2W
— North Shore Updates (@UpdatesNorth) January 16, 2019

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