Arson Possible Cause of Home Heavily Damaged by Fire

Authorities say arson may be the cause of a fire that caused over $200,000 in damage to a home in unincorporated Will County on Feb. 18.

Naperville fire officials responded to a report of a fire on the city’s far south side in the middle of the afternoon after a passerby reported seeing flames through the window of a single-story ranch home.

Subsequent callers identified the address as 28W727 Wagner. When firefighters arrived, smoke and fire were coming through the roof of the house, Naperville fire officials said.

After the initial knockdown, crews enter to search the home for occupants. While the home had no permanent residents, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.

Naperville Deputy Fire Chief Rick Sander told the Naperville Sun that the blaze was “suspicious in nature.”

The fire is currently under investigation by the city’s fire investigation team and the Illinois state fire marshal’s office.

According to the Naperville Sun, no traces of accelerant were found.

Will County Sheriff’s Police and the Naperville Fire Department had been to the home just a few days before on Feb. 16, after neighbors called about a domestic quarrel between a young couple that had recently moved into the house.

A man reportedly came outside late Saturday night or early Sunday morning and was screaming the woman’s name.

Sheriff’s deputies described the woman as being “very, very upset.” Paramedics took the woman to the hospital for observation and possible treatment, a Will County Sheriff’s Police spokeswoman said.

The owner of the home told authorities that relatives had been living in the ruined home, as well as another man.

The Will County deputy that had answered the domestic call a few days earlier said he learned from a fire department official that the fire “appeared to be suspicious.”

The state fire marshal’s representative who was also at the scene said the fire appeared to be intentional, reports said.

No charges have been filed as of yet.