Hot barbecue coals start Des Plaines house fire, authorities say

Hot barbecue coals ignited a wood deck at a Des Plaines home early Friday morning, and the fire spread to the attic of the single-family house, authorities said.

The flames on the deck moved up the exterior wall of the house on the 2400 block of Ballard Road and got into the attic through the roof eaves, Des Plaines Fire Chief Alan Wax said.

All occupants of the house safely evacuated by the time firefighters arrived at 2:50 a.m., and there were no injuries, Wax said.

There was heavy smoke throughout the neighborhood and because of the advanced fire in the attic it took firefighters nearly 30 minutes to bring it under control, he said.

The house sustained extensive attic and roof damage, and interior heat and smoke damage. The preliminary damage loss estimate is $425,000, but the house will not be a total loss, Wax said.

Fire investigators left the scene by 6 a.m.