Fire causes more than $200,000 damage to Naperville home

A Naperville family escaped unharmed early Tuesday morning after an accidental fire severely damaged their home, authorities said.

One of the residents at 424 Highland Ave. called 911 about 3:45 a.m. to report his house was on fire.

The building had working smoke detectors, and all five residents escaped without injury before firefighters arrived two minutes later.

Roughly 25 firefighters responded and brought the blaze under control within 15 minutes, although crews stayed on the scene for another hour.

Firefighters rescued three dogs from the basement, and the pets were taken to Naperville's animal shelter.

Officials believe the fire started in the living room fireplace.

"The fire was left going, and possibly what happened is an ember came out of the fireplace and ignited things close to the fireplace," Assistant Fire Chief Richard Mikel said.

The blaze destroyed the first floor of the house and caused extensive damage to the second floor.

Officials deemed the house uninhabitable and estimate the damage to be in excess of $200,000. The family is staying with friends until alternate living arrangements can be made.