Fire was showing from the gable vent on the east side of the house when firefighters arrived. The fire was reported by a neighbor as the residents were away. Larry Shapiro photo The area has only dry hydrants, the closest of which was over 2,000 feet away. Lake Zurich Engine 4 laid out their entire bed of 5" hose to reach this hydrant. Larry Shapiro photo Long Grove relied on their squad with 1,000 gallons on board and the 3,000-gallon tanker before the supply line from Lake Zurich Engine 4 was charged. Larry Shapiro photo Two cats were rescued from the home by Long Grove firefighters. Larry Shapiro photo Custom Printed Notepad,Print Your Own Notepad,Print on Demand Notepad,Notepad Printing Services,Custom Stationery Notepad Guangzhou Xinqicai Printing Co., Ltd. , https://www.cnxqcprinting.com
During the peak of a powerful afternoon storm that swept through the Chicago area, fire departments in the northwest suburbs were heavily engaged responding to lightning strikes. Within just an hour, multiple departments—Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, Countryside, Palatine, Long Grove, and Barrington—each received reports of lightning strikes within their jurisdictions.
The Lincolnshire-Riverwoods call turned out to be a lightning strike with no fire, while the Palatine response was also a lightning strike but caused minimal damage. Meanwhile, Countryside saw smoke coming from a four-story residential building and escalated the alarm to a working fire, requesting a MABAS Box Alarm for change-of-quarters companies only.
Long Grove responded to a fire on Muirwood Court, upgrading the alarm to Code 4. During this time, Barrington also went to a MABAS Box Alarm for a fire in Inverness. When the Long Grove fire was brought under control, both the Palatine and Countryside incidents were still active, forcing the RED Center to mobilize additional units normally assigned to those areas.
When Barrington upgraded their fire to a Box Alarm, they had to find replacement companies for Long Grove and Wheeling, both of which were already committed at the Long Grove fire. Two tankers and an engine originally en route to Barrington were instead sent to Long Grove and later released to assist at Barrington once the fire was contained.
Larry Shapiro was on scene at the Long Grove fire and captured several photos and a video documenting the event.
A gallery with more images can be found HERE.