Fire destroys Skokie home

Jessica D'Onofrio Image
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Fire destroys Skokie home
A fire ripped through a home being rehabbed in north suburban Skokie Tuesday morning.

SKOKIE, Ill. (WLS) -- A fire ripped through a home being rehabbed in north suburban Skokie Tuesday morning.

The house fire occurred in the 5200-block of Fargo Avenue between Niles Center Road and the Edens Expressway.

"I was hoping it would be just a small fire like part of the garage or something but man it's burned all the way through," said homeowner Jason Donajkowski.

Donajkowski owns a small real estate business and owns the home. He says the four bedroom, three bathroom renovation project was just weeks away from completion.

Firefighters in north suburban Skokie are battled a house fire Tuesday morning.

"It was the biggest project we had taken on you know," he said. "We're a small business. It's just really sets me back we were just really looking to get this thing on the market."

Just before 6 a.m. a police officer noticed the fire and called it in. The flames spread quickly.

"When a house is under construction, obviously, there's more void spaces," said Skokie Fire Chief Jeff Hoeflich. "It allows the fire to spread more rapidly."

Fortunately, the fire never touched Earmer Dunn's home next door.

"I'm blessed, I am so blessed," Dunn said.

The fire is under investigation. The cause is unknown.