Harlem-Roscoe Fire battled two fires on Fourth of July
Before they had finished with the first fire, Harlem-Roscoe received a second call.
On July 4, 2023, Harlem-Roscoe Fire summoned help from other departments to battle flames and smoke at the 30' x 50' white metal building of a small business in northern Roscoe, as well as at a residence and garage near Hononegah and Dorr Roads.
When they arrived on the scene before 8 p.m., HRFD Battalion 7 summoned extra help through the MABAS system. Companies responded to the alert from Rockton Fire, North Park Fire, Loves Park Fire, South Beloit Fire, Lifeline Ambulance, Capron Rescue, and MD1. Also, Superior Ambulance, the Cherry Valley Chief, and Boone County Fire District #2 sent "change of quarters" crews, to cover routine calls at the station while HRFD was out.
But less than an hour later, just before 9:00 p.m., HRFD received another call, this time for a residential structure fire on Waltham Road, near Kelly Myers Park east of Dorr Road in Roscoe. Boone County Fire District #2 was sent out as the first unit to the residential fire, while Belvidere Fire took their place covering the HRFD station.
HRFD Chief Patrick Trollop says, "I requested another MABAS Box (Box 12) to ensure there would be enough fire apparatus for the second structure fire." The occupants were safely outside, but heavy smoke and fire was coming from the garage and back side of the house.
Trollop reported, "Upon arriving to the scene, I upgraded the alarm to the 3rd alarm. This brought units from Blackhawk, Belvidere, Capron Rescue, Cherry Valley, North Park, Northwest, Pecatonica, Rockton, Shirland, South Beloit, Stillman Valley, and Win-Bur-Sew. The engine company from Boone 2 was able to quickly get water on the fire and were able to keep it contained to the garage. Loves Park and South Beloit checked for extension of the fire both inside and outside of the residence. Unfortunately, the homeowners did lose a pet from this incident."
Trollop says, "I would like to personally thank all of our Auto-Aid and Mutual-Aid companies that not only assisted us on both fires but the ones who provided change of quarters. Obviously that made a huge difference as we not only fought two fires but still had other medical calls that needed to be handled. It was a long hot night, and everyone worked extremely hard and they all made a huge difference. I truly appreciate their efforts and I am always happy to see the MABAS system work as well as it does."
Two firefighters at the first incident were treated by HRFD Medic 3 and MD1 for heat exhaustion/overexertion and were released.
HRFD Battalion Chief Mike Jones reported that the second fire was called in at "20:36 hrs," but a previous version of this story erroneously stated that the first fire took 20 hours to put out. We regret the error.
Click, tap, or swipe on the photo below to view an image gallery of the fires. Photos: HRFD Photographer Sheryl Drost
