A private alarm system alerted Lake Zurich Fire/Rescue to a Kildeer garage fire in the early stages, minimizing damage, Wednesday afternoon.

“If they didn’t have an alarm. We wouldn’t have seen the smoke until it broke through and then it would have been much worse,” said Lake Zurich Fire Chief David Wheelock.

Lake Zurich Fire responded to the residential fire alarm at 21801 Cambridge Dr., Kildeer at 2:01 p.m. The first unit arrived on the scene and reported smoke stain around the garage door and that it was hot to the touch, according to the fire department news release.

The fire crews forced entry into the garage and water was applied. The fire was reported under control at 2:40 p.m.

The homeowners were not home at the time, but their three dogs were in the house. Firefighters were able to quickly remove one of the dogs and corral a second. A third, small dog hid. When the homeowners arrived, they removed the last dog.

Chief Wheelock said there was some  smoke in the house, but it was minimal,  and the dogs were able to withstand it.

He said the cause of the fire is undetermined, but believed to be electrical in nature.

The Lake Zurich Fire/Rescue Department activated the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System for water tenders due to a non-hydrant area. The following departments assisted: Wauconda, Barrington, Long Grove, Countryside, Buffalo Grove, Fox River Grove, Palatine, Cary, Deerfield, Libertyville, Lake Villa and Mt. Prospect.