Rare 7-Alarm Fire Destroys Suburban Home

A Lake County home was destroyed by a massive fire Friday night in north suburban Wadsworth.

The fire, in the 38600 block of North Arbor Court, was initially reported about 8:30 p.m. and quickly escalated to a rare seven-alarm call.

Initially impeded because of a lack of fire hydrants in the area, multiple fire departments were called in to provide tanker trucks that could bring water to the scene.

It was extinguished about 11:30 p.m., according to a Newport Township Fire Protection District firefighter, who did not immediately know if anyone was hurt.

The owners, listed in county tax records as Branko and Vera Kotevski, were reportedly attending a son’s graduation in California.

A neighbor, Joseph Rawls, said he was in his garage “a little after 8” when he heard crackling and saw flames in the living room of the house. He said he called 911, then went to the house and pounded on doors but no one answered.

He also pounded on the garage doors suspecting the family’s two dogs might be trapped, but he heard nothing.

The two-story house, estimated at about 4,000 square feet, was a wood-and-brick structure.

Newport Township fire crews were assisted by neighboring departments.