Antioch family homeless after early morning fire

Antioch fire officials are still trying to determine the cause of a fire that left an Antioch couple homeless Tuesday.

Lt. Chris Leinhardt of the Antioch Fire Department said firefighters responded to the 200 block of North Avenue just after 9 a.m.

He said the two occupants of the home were down the block helping someone move out of their home when they saw smoke coming out of their own house.

They raced back to their house, Leinhardt said, to see smoke and flames coming out of the rear of the single-family ranch-style house.

"They immediately called the fire department," Leinhardt said. "The first firefighters on the scene did a great job trying to knock it down, but we were behind the ball from the very beginning because the smoke and fire were already heavy when we arrived on scene."

He said officials believe the fire ignited in the kitchen area, but that the cause remains under investigation.

He added no people were injured in the blaze, but two dogs died due to smoke inhalation.

He said the damage estimate on the house is unknown, but the contents were destroyed by the fire and smoke.

"We were able to save some pictures that were stored inside of three ring binders packed tightly into some book shelves," he said. "But most everything else was destroyed."

"It's always a shame when something like this happens," he said.

He added the couple is working with the village and the American Red Cross until insurance investigators can get to the scene and sort out monetary issues.

Fire departments from Salem, Wis., and Bristol, Wis., were brought in to help fight the fire and to staff the Antioch fire stations, he added.