No Injuries Reported in Darien Garage Fire

UPDATED: 4:48 p.m.

No one was injured in a garage fire that broke out Thursday morning on 71st Street.

The fire was reported around 9:20 a.m. in the 18W000 block of 71st Street in unincorporated Darien, just west of 71st Street and Cass Avenue.

One person was home at the time of the fire. Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District Fire Prevention Bureau Director Robert P. Morris said the resident had no physical injuries, but his "hair was singed" as a result of the fire.

Morris said the man was being checked out by a Pleasantview Fire Protection District ambulance.

The first man on the scene was the department's deputy chief, Morris said, who saw smoke in the sky from about a mile away from the home. That's when additional fire departments, including the Westmont Fire Department and the Tri-State Fire Protection District, were called in.

Morris said the fire was "fully involved" in the garage of the house and was about to spread to the rest of the home. He said the owners would not be able to live in the house for "quite awhile."

Morris said the crews were still working on spot fires and opening up holes in the roof around 10:10 a.m., but the fire was brought under control in about 45 minutes. Crews remained on the scene for several hours to ensure that there weren't any fires hidden in other parts of the house, according to a statement the district released later in the afternoon.

Neighbor Mike Vastalo saw the fire from his home across the street.

"I was eating breakfast, and I saw the whole front of the house in flames," he said.

Firefighters continue to investigate the cause of the fire.