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Police Reports: Feb. 3, 2015

Four members of a Flossmoor family lost their home Thursday when a fire swept through the residence, causing extensive damage.

Flossmoor Assistant Fire Chief Keith Damm said the home, in the 2800 block of Kathleen Lane, will be “unoccupiable for a while.” The family – two parents and two children – are now living in temporary housing provided by their insurance company. The children attend school in Flossmoor, Damm said, adding that he talked to the homeowner on Friday morning.

Damm said Red Cross assisted family following the fire, and put them up in a hotel. Anyone wishing to help the family should contact the Red Cross, he said.

Fire units responded to the blaze after smoke was reported coming from the house at 2:38 p.m. No one was home at the time of the fire. Arriving on the scene, firefighters found an intense blaze at the home.

Flossmoor sent an engine and a truck to the fire. Units from five other communities – Homewood, Hazel Crest, East Hazel Crest, Thornton and Chicago Heights – assisted in fighting the fire. Oak Forest and Frankfort sent units that were on standby at the Flossmoor fire station.

It took 20 minutes to get the fire under control, Damm said.

“I can’t give enough credit to the firefighters on the scene,” Damm said. “They did an amazing job, and entered the house to get the fire under control. Given the intensity of the fire, I would have expected that this one would have lasted a lot longer.”

Damm said the fire is under investigation by the Flossmoor Department but it appears that the blaze was accidental, and started in the kitchen.

“We’re still trying to pinpoint the exact cause,” he said.

The monetary loss from the fire is now listed at $150,000, with about half that amount coming from structural damage and the other half to belongings inside the house.

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