The house was constructed without fire stops in the walls, so the flames were able to spread quickly through the walls
Fire that ravaged historic Hinsdale home may have been caused by owners' efforts to restore roof, they say
HINSDALE, Ill.:
The owners of the nearly 120-year-old Hinsdale house damaged by fire Wednesday said they will try to rebuild it, but they do not know if that is possible.
“The irony is we were trying to preserve it, by putting a new roof on,” said Neal Reenan.
“The very last bit was the flat roof,” said Jennifer Reenan.
The Reenans believe the blowtorch the roofers were using may have caused the fire.
The Hinsdale Fire Department said the contractors working on the house on the 300 block of East Sixth Street called 911 at about 3:30 p.m. and said the house was on fire.
Neal Reenan was out of the country and his wife was volunteering at their children’s school, the Avery Coonley School in Downers Grove. As she was leaving the school with one of their three children between 3:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. to head back home, she looked at her phone and saw she had many messages, including one from the roofer. She called him back and heard what was happening.
When she arrived at the house, where firefighters were putting water on the flames, she learned the family’s dog Ruby was still inside.
The firefighters knew the family had a dog and found the black Labrador hiding in the walk-in closet in the master bedroom.
“That is her hiding place when there are storms,” Jennifer Reenan said.
Her son breathed a big sigh of relief when he saw Ruby safely outside the house, she said.
The Reenans said they are overwhelmed by the support from friends and neighbors. They are offering to take the kids to school and sports. They’re loaning and buying clothes for the children to wear. One neighbor is keeping Ruby the dog at his house.
“They’re opening their homes to us,” Neal Reenan said. “Some of these people we have known for a long time and some we really don’t know.”
A neighbor picked up their other two children from track practice Wednesday.
One neighbor got her a glass of wine in the middle of it all, Jennifer Reenan said.
The Reenans are very grateful no one was injured and for the kindness everyone has shown.
“I wouldn’t have made it without them,” said Jennifer Reenan, with emotion in her voice.
The Reenan family in the summer of 2016 moved from Naperville into the Hinsdale house that local historians know as the American Beauty, because the first owner grew American Beauty roses commercially.
Parts of the two-and-a-half story house, built in the Colonial Revival style in 1899, have been modified through the years, but the original family’s history and architectural elements, such as canvas ceilings painted with rose motifs in the living room and drawing room, the sun parlor, china cupboards and fireplace mantels all from 1899, warranted its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The house’s historic character attracted them, as did the tennis courts on the side of the house, Neal Reenan said.
The former owners, the McGues, did a phenomenal job of restoring the house, Neal Reenan said, and he was continuing that effort.
“We are sad for the community,” Neal Reenan said. It is too soon to know whether the house can be restored, he said. “We hope it can.”
Hinsdale Fire Department officials said firefighters saw light smoke around the second-floor balcony on the west side of the house when they arrived. The contractors were there, but the house was locked and firefighters had to force their way inside.
While trying to find the origin of the fire, firefighters quickly determined the fire had extended into the walls and other empty spaces throughout the house. The house was constructed without fire stops in the walls, so the flames were able to spread quickly through the walls, Hinsdale Fire Chief John Giannelli said.
Nearly 100 firefighters from 20 different departments and fire protection districts responded to the fire to help. The fire was not extinguished until 8 p.m., the Hinsdale Fire Department reported. The cause is still being investigated, the department said late Wednesday.
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HINSDALE, Ill. (WLS) -- Firefighters battled a massive blaze at a historic home in west suburban Hinsdale Wednesday afternoon.
Emergency crews responded to the scene in the 300-block of East 6th Street.
The home was built in 1899 and is considered a national treasure once known as "American Beauty."
"It's heartbreaking. That house has been a mainstay in Hinsdale for 130 years," said Julie Laux, neighbor. "We've just lost a piece of history. We've lost a way to connect to our past. This is elegant and gracious and just a reminder of when life was so much different than it is right now."
Firefighters said the historic home was built in a much different way than modern construction, which made it burn more intensely.
"It's actually a balloon frame house, so the fire spreads very quickly," said Hinsdale Fire Chief John Giannelli. "Balloon frame means there is no fire stopping in that building, so once you get a fire inside a wall it can drop all the way to the basement, it can go all the way to the roof."
Firefighters fought flames and smoke inside the home for as long as they could, but eventually had to leave for their own safety.
"Conditions made it almost impossible to keep them on the third floor," Giannelli said.
Outside, crews doused the flames for hours, saturating the entire house with water.
The home's new owners were out of town, fire officials said. Firefighers were able to rescue their dog from the home.
"I'm devastated for these people. I don't know them but it's got to be absolutely heartbreaking. They've got little kids and all your personal belongings and memories," Laux said.
The cause of the fire is not known and an investigation is ongoing. No injuries were reported.
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