A passerby called 9-1-1 this morning in Wheeling reporting heavy smoke coming from a house in the area of Strong Avenue and Wolf Roads. When companies responded, they reported a large header which was visible from Station 42 on Dundee Road. The first arriving unit reported fire in an attached garage of a single-family home and requested the alarm be upgraded to a Code 4 working fire.
Residents were out of the house and firefighters attacked the fire with two 2-1/2 inch lines knocking down the majority of the fire in minutes. Two more lines were used as a company went into the house and the fourth went to another side.
The fire was stopped before it was able to get into the house, though a significant amount of smoke permeated the living quarters.
Northbrook Engine 10, Buffalo Grove Tower 25, and Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Ambulance 52 responded for mutual aid.
Larry Shapiro arrived within a minute of the first lines going into operation and still missed the heavy fire and smoke. He has submitted several images and will have more posted on his site.