Fire leaves Spring Grove home uninhabitable

A fire on Tuesday afternoon made a house in Spring Grove uninhabitable, according to the Fox Lake Fire Protection District.

Battalion Chief Brent Connelly said the fire that occurred about 4:22 p.m. at the 38200 block of North Fifth Avenue, was mainly on the exterior of the single-family, two-story house. Heavy smoke caused damage inside the house, rendering it uninhabitable, he said.

Neither the family nor the firefighters suffered any injuries. The first crew to arrive on the scene saved a dog and four birds. Firefighters contained the fire within five minutes, Connelly said, and tore off vinyl and wood siding to ensure the fire didn't get into the walls and extend into the house.

"Significant amount of time was doing overhaul or making sure that some of the burned area was not still on fire," Connelly said.

The cause of the fire still is unknown and the investigation is ongoing. Investigators will return to the scene Wednesday.