Wheaton woman dies in morning fire

Wheaton and DuPage County officials are investigating an early morning blaze that killed a woman Sunday, police said.

At about 5:45 a.m., area fire departments responded to a call about a fire in a townhouse on the 1500 block of Sandhurst Court, officials said.

The name of the victim was unavailable Sunday morning pending notification of her family, DuPage County Coroner's Office officials said.

DuPage County's arson task force and Wheaton's police and fire departments currently are investigating the incident.

"Right now there appears to be no foul play, but that decision won't be made until a later date for sure," Wheaton Police Department Cmdr. Joe Eversole said.

The fire was put out within 30 minutes, Eversole said.

The destroyed townhouse is one of four attached units in a complex. Officials said all four are uninhabitable.

"They're not going to be able to live there tonight," Eversole said. "I think most of them had relatives in the area.

At the scene Sunday morning, sleepy residents lined up along crime tape and camped out in their cars.

Suresh Arora, whose unit was directly across from the unit where the fire started, said his family learned of the fire at about 5:15 a.m.

His family tried to open the main door, but couldn't see anything because there was smoke everywhere. Their next thought was to wait outside on the second-floor balcony until police arrived to help rescue them.

"It was a horrible experience," Arora said. "They're not letting us in until they complete the investigation."

Michael and Kate Pascente, neighbors who live across the street, said when they found out about the fire they set off their car alarm to wake people who may have been asleep. They also started knocking on doors to make sure everyone was out.

Some officers and county officials remained on the scene Sunday afternoon to continue the investigation.