Fire guts house, kills pets in Villa Park

Several cats are dead following a weekend house fire in Villa Park, officials said.

The fire leveled a single-family, split-level home about 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 526 N. Addison Road. The occupants were not home at the time of the fire.

An investigation concluded that the fire began in a basement family room and carried to the upper-level bedroom.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, five officials said.

Eventually, the flames engulfed the living room, dining room and kitchen, causing about $150,000 in damage, according to estimates.

The fire took about an hour to extinguish. There was no fire sprinkler system in the home. The residence now is uninhabitable.

Some nearby residents noted a smell of gas and suspected a gas explosion may have started the fire. However, Fire Chief Mark Duski said on Monday that there was no indication of a gas leak or explosion.

"Maybe there was a gas leak somewhere else, but we didn't hear about it," Duski said. "And if there was an explosion, I'm pretty sure we'd hear about it."

The investigation is now closed, he said.