Lightning possible cause of Wheaton house fire

A fire possibly sparked by lightning during a Friday afternoon thunderstorm rendered a Wheaton home uninhabitable but did not cause any injuries, authorities said Saturday.

The Wheaton Fire Department was called about 5 p.m. Friday to the blaze at a single-family home in the 1500 block of South Friars Court.

Crews from Wheaton and several neighboring fire departments found fire in the attic of the home’s attached garage and brought it under control after about 15 minutes on the scene.

Residents of the home escaped safely without injuries, but the city of Wheaton’s building department determined they were unable to occupy the structure because of fire damage. A cost estimate of the damage was not yet available Saturday.

The fire department’s preliminary investigation indicates the fire could have been ignited by a lightning strike during thunderstorms that rolled through the West suburbs between 4 and 5 p.m. Friday.