Nearly 20 departments fight St. Charles house fire

A massive garage fire Monday afternoon in St. Charles damaged a home, three cars and a neighboring garage and drew firefighters from 19 different departments, fire officials said.

The blaze, which started at about 12:30 p.m. in a detached garage in the 300 block of Indiana Street, shot clouds of black smoke into the sky that were visible from as far away as Dean Street and Randall Road Monday afternoon.

Flames quickly spread into the attic of the home and to the first floor, while involving three vehicles in the driveway, as well as a neighbor's garage and causing $385,000 in damage, fire officials say.

One of the home's owners called firefighters to report the fire, which is believed to be accidental. Nobody was injured. Neighbors and people in the area began posting photos of the flames shortly before 1 p.m. on Facebook. Within the next hour, nearly 20 area fire departments were involved in battling the blaze or to provide back up.

The fire was brought under control within 90 minutes. Firefighters remained on the scene into the night. The garage and cars were a total loss, fire officials said, while the home is uninhabitable. Residents are being helped by the American Red Cross.