Plainfield Family Loses House, Dogs To Fire

A Plainfield family lost their home and two dogs to a fire in the 24000 block of Kingston in the Wallin Woods subdivision Saturday night.

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Plainfield Deputy Fire Chief Jon Stratton said investigators believe the fire, reported around 5:30 p.m., may have started on the exterior before spreading into the attic and kitchen. The home is uninhabitable, he said.

Patch reader Nicole Niklaus-Svejda said the homeowners and their 15-year-old son are in desperate need of essentials like clothing, soap, shampoo, contact solution and other toiletries.

"They lost everything including their two dogs," she said. The family was not home at the time of the fire.

"It's pretty tough," Stratton said of the loss of the family pets. "It's emotional -- one was a twin of Blaze," the fire department's arson investigation dog, a yellow Labrador, he said.

Stratton said police who responded to the scene learned from neighbors that the dogs were in the house.

Officers called for the pets, trying to lure them out of the home, but the smoke was too heavy for them to enter, Stratton said.

"(The family) is taking it pretty tough," he said.

Niklaus-Svejda said she is collecting donations for the family. For information on clothing sizes or to arrange for drop off or pickup, text her at 630-362-5463 or email loves2runafter4@gmail.com.