Nov. 06--Three people died when a fire broke out in a home in Arlington Heights overnight, according to authorities.
Emergency crews were called to the two-story brick house in the 300 block of South Dunton Avenue around 3:20 a.m., Police Cmdr. Mike Hernandez said. It wasn't clear if there were any other injuries.
"At this point in time ... we haven't completed the search of the building yet to determine if there's any other victims," Fire Chief Glenn Ericksen said around 6:45 a.m.
Police had been in the area and smelled smoke but by the time firefighters arrived, the fire had spread through the single-family home, Ericksen said.
As crews were arriving, part of the building collapsed. The three people who died were all found inside, Ericksen said. "It collapsed right when we arrived, a portion of the rear on the second floor."
Investigators from the Illinois State Fire Marshall's Office and the Arlington Heights fire and police departments were on the scene, a standard response for fatal fires, Hernandez said.
"We still have to do a lot of debris removal before they can get down to find the seat and cause of the fire," Ericksen said.
The fire didn't spread to neighboring buildings and no firefighters were hurt.
Neighboring fire departments helped, either with the fire or covering the firehouses of Arlington Heights crews that were working, Ericksen said.
The Cook County medical examiner's office was sending an investigator to the scene.
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