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Northwest Herald

Halloween fog machine causes evacuation of McHenry County courthouse

The McHenry County courthouse in Woodstock.

A Halloween treat at the McHenry County courthouse turned into a Halloween trick when the building had to be evacuated Tuesday morning.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the cause of a fire alarm Tuesday at the courthouse was a fog machine that had been brought into the building to mark the spooky holiday.

The Woodstock Fire-Rescue District responded to a fire alarm at the McHenry County Government Center shortly at 8 a.m.

“Firefighters quickly deemed the alarm was accidentally activated and normal operations were allowed to resume in the building shortly after,” said Alex Vucha, a communications specialist for the district, who confirmed that it was “Halloween decorations” that triggered the alarm.

Claire O'Brien

Claire O'Brien is a reporter who focuses on Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Woodstock, Marengo and the McHenry County Board. Feel free to email her at cobrien@shawmedia.com.