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No injuries as fire sweeps through Naperville house

No injuries were reported late Wednesday night in a fire that caused extensive damage to a house on the 100 block of Birchwood in Naperville that left the building uninhabitable.

Authorities say the cause of the blaze, which first was reported at 11:46 p.m., remains under investigation.

Firefighters said the initial 911 call came from a resident reporting smoke inside her home, but the location was unclear. A second call came from a neighbor who said fire could be seen coming from the house. The first units arrived on the scene within six minutes and could see smoke from outside the building.

The initial attack crews were slowed by large amounts of furniture and other materials inside the house, firefighters said, but were able to identify the origin of the fire in the basement. Crews also were able to determine that the residents all escaped safely.

At some point conditions inside the house became too dangerous, firefighters said, and crews evacuated the building to conduct what they termed "defensive" action to fight the blaze from outside and try to limit the damage.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Naperville Fire Department Fire Investigation Team. Naperville firefighters were assisted at the scene by the Naperville Police Department, Naperville Electric Department, Naperville Transportation Engineering and Development, Naperville Emergency Management Agency and Nicor.

Fire units from the Plainfield, Lisle-Woodridge, Bolingbrook, Downers Grove and Warrenville provided support at the scene and helped staff Naperville stations.

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