Four taken to hospital after house fire in Downers Grove

Four people were injured in a fire about 8:30 p.m. Saturday in a house in the 6500 block of Fairmount Avenue, Downers Grove.

A man, a woman and their two children were taken to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove for evaluation of smoke inhalation injuries, Downers Grove Acting Battalion Chief Joe Difatta said. The father may have also suffered minor burns, he said.

The fire was reported in a back room of the house. Flames were visible when firefighters arrived, he said. The family had evacuated.

The wood-frame house sustained heavy smoke and fire damage, with part of it collapsing; the village has tagged it as uninhabitable. Difatta estimated damage costs at least $250,000.

The American Red Cross helped the family get lodging, clothing and food.

The cause was still being investigated late Saturday evening, but Difatta said the fire did not appear to be suspicious.

Most of the houses on that block were built in the mid- to late-1960s, according to township property records.

Firefighters from at least seven departments and districts - including Naperville, Lemont, Romeoville, Westmont, Lisle-Woodridge, Darien-Woodridge, York Center and Oak Brook - helped the Downers Grove department.