Apartment fire displaces 6 Lombard families

Six families were displaced from their homes Thursday afternoon by a fire in an apartment building in Lombard.

The fire was reported by an automated alarm at 2:30 p.m. at 880 Foxworth Blvd.

Flames were contained to a fourth-floor apartment, but five units around and below it were damaged by smoke and water.

The fire started in an electric wall heater in the living room and spread to a couch several feet away. Most of the fire damage was in the living room.

No one was in the apartment at the time.

A cat died in the fire.

Firefighters from the Lisle-Woodridge, York Center, Downers Grove and Oak Brook departments aided Lombard.

The residents were put up for the night in local hotels and are expected to return home Friday, said James Plunket, public information officer for the Lombard Fire Department.

The building contains 48 units. It has sprinklers, but only in common areas such as the hallways.