Candle blamed for starting $800,000 house fire
By Linda Girardi For The Courier-News October 19, 2012 6:16PM
Updated: October 23, 2012 8:47AM
CAMPTON HILLS — An unattended candle is being blamed for a house fire here last month.
The Sept. 10 fire at 3N195 Spring Wood Lane caused an estimated $800,000 in damage, said Craig Hanson, assistant fire chief of the Elburn & Countryside Fire Protection District.
Hanson said a third-party investigator determined the cause to be a burning candle located too closely to drapery in a three-season porch.
“While the homeowners discovered the fire, it was beyond the ability for them to do anything but evacuate,” Hanson said.
Homeowners Bob and Debbie Notaro evacuated the home but then had to watch as firemen from 17 departments battled the blaze to the newly remodeled house. They were able to get the family dog out with them and save an SUV parked in the garage.
They were in their master bedroom when they saw smoke coming from the ground level in the back of the home. Bob Notaro, who suffered burns to his forehead and back, said he called 911 and ran to the back of the home to try to extinguish the fire with a garden hose.
The two-story home was in a wooded area at the end of a dead-end lane.
