'A devastating tragedy': Lombard resident, dog found dead in fire

A Lombard man and a dog were found dead after a house fire early Tuesday, authorities said.

Firefighters were called to the ranch home on the 100 block of West North Avenue at 6:18 a.m. A neighbor had called 911 after seeing smoke.

Firefighters arrived at 6:21 a.m. and found smoke coming from the roof and eaves of the home. Crews encountered a small fire in the kitchen and quickly extinguished it. The resident and a dog were found dead in the basement.

"There appeared to be fire in the basement at some point, but it ... burned itself out, snuffed itself out at some point, and the only fire left was in the kitchen on the first floor," Lombard Deputy Fire Chief Ray Kickert said.

The cause of the fire is "undetermined, but not believed to be suspicious," Kickert told the Daily Herald.

The man has not yet been identified, according to the DuPage County coroner's office. There was no one else home at the time of the blaze.

"This is a devastating tragedy, and our hearts go out to the friends and family of the victim," Kickert said in a statement released by the village.

The fire caused an estimated $100,000 in damage to the house. The structure was left uninhabitable. The windows were boarded by Tuesday afternoon.

Lombard police, the Lombard Fire Investigations Unit and the DuPage County Fire Investigation Task Force are helping to determine the cause of the fire.