Fire damages St. Charles townhouse

A fire on the 1400 block of Dean Street in St. Charles left a townhouse uninhabitable, officials said. St. Charles firefighters responded to a call at 9:05 p.m. Wednesday, according to a news release. Firefighters found a fire in the basement of the townhouse that had burned through an exterior wall. The fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes. No one was at home at the time of the fire, officials said. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation but is not considered suspicious, officials said. Damage is estimated at about $5,000.