Fire causes extensive damage to Lockport Township home

A Lockport Township home was left uninhabitable after fire destroyed much of the residence on Wednesday.

The Lockport Township Fire Protection District responded to a house fire in the 200 block of Wesleyan Street in unincorporated Lockport Township at about 1:59 a.m. Wednesday and found heavy smoke coming from a two-story, single-family residence, according to the fire protection district.

Crews found fire in the back wall of the house that had extended through void spaces to the second floor and into the attic.

The resident woke to the smell of smoke and was able to safely evacuate prior to the fire company’s arrival, according to the fire protection district. There were no injuries reported.

Fire crews worked at the scene for nearly three hours to bring the fire under control and extinguish any hidden fire, according to the fire protection district. The fire was upgraded to a full still, which brought in mutual aid assistance from Homer, Lemont, New Lenox, and Northwest Homer fire districts to the scene while East Joliet, Homer, Plainfield, and Romeoville covered the Lockport stations.

The extensive damage left the home uninhabitable, according to the fire protection district.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by Lockport and MABAS Division 19 Fire Investigators but it appears to have started in a garbage can on the exterior of the home, according to the fire protection district.