Woman dies in Wheaton townhouse fire

Investigators are searching for the cause of a townhouse fire that killed an adult woman early Sunday morning in Wheaton.

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

When firefighters entered the building, they found the female victim near the closet area of her second-story unit's bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene, Wheaton Police Cmdr. Joe Eversole said.

The victim's name was not being released Sunday, pending notification of her family, officials said.

DuPage County's arson task force and Wheaton's police and fire departments are still investigating what started the blaze.

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

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

The destroyed townhouse is one of four attached units with a common foyer and hallway to the garages. Officials said the residents in all four units have been displaced because their homes are uninhabitable.

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

Suresh Arora, whose second-floor 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 rescue them.

"It was a horrible experience," Arora said.

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.