Lincolnshire-Riverwoods (LRFPD) and neighboring firefighters were sent to 1505 Garden Court in unincorporated Lake County just before noon today (12/26/17) for a house fire. Units responding reported a header in the sky long before they arrived on the scene. LRFPD Battalion 51 found flames blowing out of the garage and attic upon arrival and requested the working fire upgrade.
Dan McInerney photo
Dan McInerney photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
It appeared that the house may have been unoccupied at the time of the fire and was undergoing renovation.
The first hydrant was found to be inoperable and as lines were pulled from LRFPD Squad 51, Buffalo Grove Engine 26 dropped a large line from the end of the block to establish a continuous water supply. Wheeling Tower 24 was setup in front of the house.
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
An interior attack knocked down the fire on the second floor and attic as other lines hit fire in the garage. The alarm was upgraded to a MABAS Box Alarm bringing additional units to the scene.
Dan McInerney photo
An incomplete list of companies at the scene included: LRFPD Battalion 51, Squad 51, Ambulance, 51, Battalion 52, Ambulance 52, Engine 53, 5101 and 5100; Wheeling Tower 24, Engine 42, Ambulance 24, Battalion 24, and 2401; Buffalo Grove Engine 26 and Ambulance 26; Mt Prospect Ambulance 14; Northbrook Engine 10; Prospect Heights Tower 9, Des Plaines Engine 61; Highland Park Engine 34 Squad 33; Deerfield-Bannockburn Squad 19 and 2001; Gurnee Squad 1342 1352; Wauconda Tower 341; plus chief officers from Libertyville and Countryside.
Dan McInerney photo
more photos at Shapirophotography.net
#1 by Bill Post on December 29, 2017 - 6:23 PM
The fire at 1505 Garden Ct in unincorporated Deerfield was a disaster waiting to happen. The reason why it wasn’t a tragedy is that no one was in the house at the time of the fire. If people were living there and the fire occurred late at night, there could have been a tragic loss of life as well as property.
The statement in the introduction that the responding units saw a header in the sky long before they arrived was no exaggeration. Wheeling Station 42, the nearest firehouse, is a 3.4 mile drive and they weren’t even the first station dispatched. Buffalo Grove Station 26 is just over a mile away however because there is no access from Deerfield Parkway which is the main artery in the area, they had to drive 3.8 miles to get to the fire. Had there been access from Deerfield Parkway they would have been able to arrive much sooner.
There is no excuse for this. Now I don’t know if a connection to Deerfield Parkway wasn’t built as a foolish oversight or perhaps because the fire happened in an unincorporated area while Deerfield Parkway is in Buffalo Grove. Either way Deerfield Parkway is only about 2 or 3 blocks from where the fire was. As the house is in an unincorporated area, it is in the Lincolnshire/Riverwoods Fire District despite the fact that there are two Wheeling stations and one Buffalo Grove station closer. Yes those departments also responded but both headquarters were closer to the scene.
You may or may not know that the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) requires a pumper or engine company be not any further then 1.5 road miles from a built upon area in a district. Due to the fact the area only has access from the Milwaukee Avenue to the east, the nearest fire companies have to travel at least 3 and 1/2 miles to get there while the Lincolnshire/Riverwoods stations are all 4 or more miles away. The situation in that area is ridiculous. The Combined Area Fire Training Center which is used by Buffalo Grove, Long Grove, Wheeling, Lincolnshire, and Deerfield is about 2.5 blocks northeast of the fire. The training center is located off of Deerfield Parkway. The road distance to the scene of the fire is 2.7 miles. In and of itself that wouldn’t have made a difference as the training center doesn’t have a fire station on the site. Having access to Deerfield Parkway however would have made a significant difference for Buffalo Grove Station 26’s arrival though. The area that I’m talking about is just west of Milwaukee avenue where it goes west for about a mile and just north of the Chevy Chase Country Club going north for a half mile about a block or two short of Deerfield Parkway.
#2 by Mike C on December 26, 2017 - 8:30 PM
Did Wheeling take the 888 out of the grill on the tower? Looks like a big hole in the grill but can’t see a clear view from the pictures.
#3 by ENG37 on December 26, 2017 - 8:11 PM
Highland Park was due with an Engine and Engine 34 responded not Squad 33. Nice photos.
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#4 by Shane on December 26, 2017 - 4:16 PM
If Gurnee Squad was there it’s 1352. 1342 is a Ambulance