OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. --
A fire in Olympia Fields caused significant damage to a home and slightly injured one firefighter Thursday morning.
Firefighters responded to the blaze in the 800 block of Exmoor Road in that south suburb at 10:44 a.m.
Matteson Deputy Fire Chief Pat Gericke said firefighters were able to get the fire under control in 20 minutes.
"The smoke was coming through the roof and out the rear of the building" when firefighters arrived, Gericke said, adding that the fire, still under investigation, started in the rear of the house. "There were flames in back," he said.
Officials said the fire caused extensive damage to the house, burning up several rooms. The rest of the home sustained smoke damage.
The homeowners were not home when the fire started and now are staying with relatives in Matteson, officials said.
In addition to Matteson, Flossmoor, Park Forest, Richton Park, Chicago Heights, Oak Forest, Homewood and Frankfort fire departments responded to the blaze.
According to officials, one firefighter suffered first-degree burns. No other injuries were reported.
Gericke said extinguishing the flames was made more difficult by the cold weather.
"It's complicated by the fire hydrant on the corner," Gericke said. "The caps on the hydrant were frozen on, and it took some time to get the caps off."
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