Families displaced after fire in Des Plaines

Two Des Plaines families were forced to move out Sunday after a fire at their home left the building structurally unsafe.

The Des Plaines Fire Department responded at 11:51 a.m. Sunday to the 1000 block of South River Road for a report of a basement fire in the two-unit home, fire officials said.

The fire started in the basement of the building where a pile of wood siding was being stored, officials said.

No one was in the home at the time of the fire and there were no injuries.

Officials said the fire was contained to the basement area, but spread up through drywall on the first floor.

Residents of the second floor of the home, which was turned into an apartment, were forced to move out because of structural damage in the basement, officials said.

Des Plaines firefighters had the blaze extinguished by about 1:20 p.m.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.