Garage fire damages Campton Hills house

A garage fire that extended into a Campton Hills house Monday afternoon caused $50,000 in damage and left the home uninhabitable, St. Charles fire officials said.

The fire started at around 2:30 p.m. in a single-family, two-story home on the 39w700 block of Carl Sandburg in the Fox Mill Subdivision, an unincorporated area near St. Charles, fire officials said.

Firefighters arrived to find heavy black smoke coming from the windows in the garage and home and reports of a dog and cat inside. Both were quickly found and the dog was brought out. The cat initially hid from firefighters, officials said.

"The dog was easier to find. The cat was hiding on them, and they saw him and thought he was OK, but he was hiding under the bed," Fire Chief Greg Benson said.

Both pets were unharmed and turned over to the homeowners, he said.

The garage was heavily damaged by fire, while the house had smoke damage throughout, officials said.

Assisting departments included South Elgin, Elgin, Burlington, St. Charles, Bartlett, Sugar Grove, and Geneva. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.