Wonder Lake townhouse left uninhabitable from fire

A Wonder Lake townhouse was left uninhabitable after a fire broke out on its upper floor Wednesday afternoon, according to a news release from the McHenry Township Fire Protection District.

The district responded to a report of a fire in a townhouse about noon in the 2100 block of Sassafras Way.

First responders arrived within five minutes to find a fire “venting from the upper-floor windows of an occupied three-story, multiple-family dwelling,” according to the release.

Firefighters cut a hole in the roof to ventilate heat and smoke from the unit and preventing the fire from spreading to other units in the building, the fire department said.

Smoke detectors in the unit were operational at the time of the fire, according to the release.

The occupants were home at the time and escaped without injury before first responders arrived. There were no firefighter or civilian injuries, according to the release.

The fire is under investigation by the McHenry Township Fire Protection District. The cause of the fire and estimated damage is not yet determined, according to the release.

The townhome is located at the recently developed Stonewater subdivision, which started construction in 2021.

The Richmond and Wonder Lake fire departments assisted, while additional agencies staffed the McHenry Township Fire Protection District stations while crews were at the fire.