PHOTOS: A family was left homeless and a pet bird died after a fire fully engulfed their house, leaving it a total loss, near Waukegan Monday afternoon, fire officials said. The Gurnee Fire Department and Lake County Sheriffโs Office responded around 1:53 p.m. Monday to the 12600 block of West Blanchard Road in unincorporated Waukegan for a report of a structure fire.
Gurnee Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Heraver said Waukegan firefighters arrived first and found heavy flames and smoke showing from a single-family, tri-level house. Flames were coming from the front of the building and then went through the roof, engulfing the home. The unincorporated street does not have fire hydrants and firefighters had to connect to a hydrant at Green Bay Road and Blanchard Road, Heraver said. A fire department tanker truck initially supplied a fire engine with water before crews dropped 1,000 feet of hose from the hydrant to the home.
