Cause of Bensenville fire under investigation

A Bensenville woman was able to escape her home unharmed after waking up to the sound and smell of a fire early Monday morning.

Firefighters responded to her 911 call at around 4:30 a.m. and found smoke billowing from a living space above an attached garage on the 200 block of South May Street, officials said.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday night, but investigators were looking into the possibility that it was caused by a lightning strike during Sunday’s storm, a fire official said.

The woman, who was the only resident home at the time, woke up after hearing some sort of noise and saw smoke inside the house, according to fire officials.

Preliminary estimates indicated the damage to the garage and room above at approximately $50,000.

Fire officials said the home was left uninhabitable.

The Bensenville Fire Department was assisted by firefighters from Elmhurst, Wood Dale, Leyden Township and Franklin Park.