Westchester Home Damaged In Extra-Alarm Fire
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A home in Westchester was damaged in an extra-alarm fire early Friday.
The fire started around 2:45 a.m. at a home on the 11200 block of Wildridge Street.
When firefighters arrived, a man who was in the home already had escaped the fire, but there were heavy flames on the second floor, threatening to spread to a neighboring house.
"I saw fire trucks and police cars coming down Wolf Road, and I smelled a bunch of smoke, and it smelled like a bonfire. So I decided to turn around, and I followed the trucks to see where they were going, and I saw flames bursting out of the top of the house," neighbor Mike Pagloiuco said.
Westchester Fire Chief Jim said extra crews were called in due to the intensity of the fire, and the structural integrity of the building.
"Initially, we did have some exposure problems, fire coming out of both sides of the back of the building. Crews did an excellent job pulling heavy lines, and protecting those exposures. So we did keep it to the one centralized building," he said.
Adams said the fire appeared to start in a chimney at the rear of the house, and then spread to the attic.
"It definitely seems accidental in nature," he said.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze around 4:20 a.m., but crews stayed at the scene for a couple hours to monitor and douse hot spots.
No injuries were reported.
Adams said the home was expected to be a total loss as a result of the fire.