No injuries in Wheaton townhouse fire

No injuries were reported in an early morning townhouse fire Wednesday in Wheaton, authorities said.

Firefighters said they responded about 3 a.m. to the fire in a townhouse basement on the 1100 block of East Rhodes Court.

The fire was brought under control within 15 minutes and residents were safely evacuated.

The fire was confined to the original unit, authorities said, which sustained considerable damage in the basement and a portion of the first floor.

The cause of the fire was accidental, authorities said, and appeared to have started near the fireplace.

Damage estimates were not immediately available, but the townhouse was deemed uninhabitable.

The Wheaton Fire Department was assisted on the scene by Wheaton police and several fire departments from neighboring communities.