This from Larry Shapiro:

Lightning is possibly to blame for starting a  house on fire at 26770 Longmeadow Circle in unincorporated Mundelein. The Countryside FPD received calls reporting black smoke from the front of the house around 12:30PM on Wednesday at what was a lull between heavy thunderstorms on the area. First arriving units found the homeowners outside and confirmed a structure fire. The alarm was quickly elevated to a MABAS Box Alarm which brought tankers (tenders) to the scene in addition to engines and trucks. Within the next 10 minutes a 2nd Alarm was requested sending additional units to the scene. Two Countryside units had lines off and the tower ladder deployed a master stream. The tankers were precautionary and though Long Grove Tanker 55 dropped a supply to Countryside’s engine, none of the other tankers were utilized.

After the bulk of the fire was knocked down, the area was pelted with another severe thunderstorm. By 2:30 most mutual aid companies had been released from the scene though there was still quite a bit of overhaul and salvage work. Companies came from Mundelein, Long Grove, Wauconda, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, Lake Villa, Buffalo Grove, Grayslake, Round Lake, Fox Lake, Wheeling, Gurnee, Knollwood, Lake Forest, and Lake Zurich.

Here are some images and a short video from the scene.

Rear of new hose wagon. Larry Shapiro photo

MESS Canteen Service on the scene. Larry Shapiro photo

Knollwood firefighters on a line. Larry Shapiro photo

Knollwood lieutenant overhauling soffits in the rear. Larry Shapiro photo

Countryside engine with supply and attack lines. Larry Shapiro photo

Gurnee firefighters on a line hitting hot spots. Larry Shapiro photo

Elevated master stream directed into the structure. Larry Shapiro photo

Firefighters salvage items from the house. Larry Shapiro photo

Countryside interface engine supplying the tower and several hand lines. Larry Shapiro photo

Countryside FPD tanker 411 supplying foam to hand lines. Larry Shapiro photo

New Countryside hose wagon. Larry Shapiro photo

Rear of the house. Larry Shapiro photo

The roof came in on the south end of the house. Larry Shapiro photo

Panoramic view of the house from the street. Larry Shapiro photo

Countryside Tower Ladder 412 flows a master stream. Larry Shapiro photo

View from the front of the house. Larry Shapiro photo

A Long Grove firefighter stretches a supply line from Tanker 55. Larry Shapiro photo

Another view of the Countryside units on the street in front of the house. Larry Shapiro photo

Countryside Engine supplies the tower ladder. Larry Shapiro photo

A gallery with more images will be posted HERE.

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