Suspicious Fire Destroys Barn; Firefighters Rush to Second Reported Barn Fire

UPDATE 10:10 P.M.: Rutland Township firefighters responded to what was reported as a barn fire on Freeman Road in unincorporated Kane County Thursday hours after Huntley firefighters battled a fire at an abandoned barn that was labeled as suspicious.

Details on the Freeman Road fire were not immediately available. Kane County Sheriff's deputies closed off the road. The fire was located about a mile west of Galligan Road.

Fire trucks were on standby at a nearby school and were eventually dispatched to the fire.

Kane County emergency management staff were also on the scene directing traffic away from Freeman Road.

The barn fire on Donald Road didn’t start “without some outside intervention,” Huntley Fire Chief Jim Saletta said.

No one was inside the barn and no injuries were reported, he said.

Huntley police were on the scene investigating Thursday as firefighters kept an eye on the burning structure. Saletta said the barn was fully involved when firefighters were dispatched.

Algonquin-Lake in the Hills and Rutland Township fire districts provided mutual aid and Huntley had several fire engines responding, he said.

“It looked pretty interesting with that amount of flames and smoke, but it’s just an abandoned barn,” Saletta said, adding there were many people who came out to watch the fire in the distance.

Firefighters worked at keeping the fire contained, away from a nearby home that is also abandoned, he said. As a precaution, the fire department brought out its brush fire equipment, he said.

The fire continued to burn into the evening but was contained within the damaged structure.