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New Year's Morning Fire Destroys House In Lincolnwood

LINCOLNWOOD, Ill. (CBS) -- A house in Lincolnwood was destroyed by fire on New Year's morning.

The Lincolnwood Fire Department was called at 7:45 a.m. for a fire in the house at 6616 Kenton Ave.

"We're about a block away, we can see smoke all the way across the street," said Lincolnwood Fire Department Battalion Chief Bryan Pierce.

Upon arriving, firefighters found heavy smoke and flames pushing through the roof. The first floor of the house began to collapse, and crews could not get inside to fight the fire.

"I saw the flames coming out of the top of the roof and was concerned, walked over, feel very sorry for our neighbors because they're good people," said Marty Michonski, who lives on the next block.

The family was on vacation at the time.

"Somebody knocked on the door and said they saw smoke coming out of the house, so we called 911 and the Fire Department was here in a few minutes, and I'm glad that no one was home. Everything can be rebuilt except lives lost," said next-door neighbor Sorin Vlad. It's pretty bad… most likely it's a teardown."

"They're coming home to something that's really a disaster," Michonski added. "On New Year's day, it's just unbelievable."

The fire department said the house was a total loss. The cause was under investigation, but there was no indication that the fire was suspicious in nature.

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