Saturday night (5/20/17), the Countryside Fire Protection District got an urgent call about a basement fire with loud explosions happening at a residence on 4 Keuka Court in Hawthorn Woods. The homeowner mentioned that there were model cars with batteries stored in the basement, which could explain the explosive sounds. At the time, a thick, moderate to heavy fog blanketed the area, making visibility challenging. When firefighters arrived, they noticed light-colored smoke billowing out of the house.
The fire quickly escalated, prompting the initial response to be upgraded to a Full Still and then further to a Box Alarm, calling for additional support from neighboring companies. However, interior firefighting teams struggled to pinpoint the exact location of the fire within the basement. The situation became even more complicated when it was determined that a larger water supply was needed, leading to another Box Alarm specifically for tenders. Interestingly, this incident happened during the early stages of a 2-Alarm fire being tackled by the Wauconda FPD in an adjacent district. As a result, many units that would typically respond to the Countryside fire were already occupied at the Wauconda fire, forcing the deployment of backup resources from lower-priority stations.
The intense flames soon spread to compromise a significant portion of the first floor, and all personnel were ordered to evacuate the structure. Firefighting strategies shifted to a defensive approach. Roughly 35 minutes into the operation, the alarm was upgraded to a second alarm. Afterward, the fire was finally brought under control, allowing firefighters to re-enter the home and eliminate any remaining hotspots.
The simultaneous occurrence of multiple large-scale fires meant that some responding units from nearby districts like Northbrook, Antioch, Newport Township, North Chicago, Hoffman Estates, Prospect Heights, Zion, Fox River Grove, and the Great Lakes Naval Training Center had to cover long distances. According to one unofficial estimate, there were around eight water tenders present at this particular fire scene.
The images captured by Larry Shapiro depict the chaos and urgency of the situation, showing firefighters preparing to enter homes filled with thick smoke, engines battling the blaze from the outside, and the use of specialized equipment like thermal imaging cameras to detect hidden flames. One particularly striking photo shows a Mundelein fire engine drawing water from a portable tank, highlighting the challenges faced in rural areas where access to traditional water supplies can be limited.
For those interested in seeing more visuals from this event, additional photos are available at Shapirophotography.net.
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