A St. Charles family has been displaced but is uninjured after a fire rendered its home uninhabitable Thursday night, according to the St. Charles Fire Department.
Firefighters responded to the fire at 9:21 p.m. Thursday in the 1700 block of South Seventh Avenue, according to the Fire Department. Firefighters on a previous call nearby were on the scene one minute later and found a fire burning on the house’s rear exterior and extending into the basement and a first-floor bathroom. Firefighters extinguished the fire in about 40 minutes and remained on scene to begin the investigation, according to the Fire Department.
The house’s occupants told firefighters they were awakened by their smoke detectors, got up, found smoke on the first floor of their house, went outside and called 911. No one was injured.
The fire’s cause is under investigation but is not considered suspicious, according to the Fire Department. Damage to the structure and contents of the house is estimated at $70,000.
Geneva, Batavia and West Chicago fire departments assisted the St. Charles Fire Department on scene. The Red Cross also responded to the scene and will help the occupants while their home is uninhabitable, according to the St. Charles Fire Department.
