Rockford family smells smoke at bedtime, awakens to find house on fire

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A Rockford man said he smelled something burning when he went to bed Monday night and awoke two hours later to find his house on fire, authorities said.

According to the Rockford Fire Department, the occupant of a home in the 800 block of Ferguson Street arrived home around 9 p.m. and went to investigate the smell but found nothing amiss.

After going to bed at 10:30 p.m., the family awoke around midnight to find flames on the exterior of their home, visible through the windows.

All six occupants escaped safely from the home as firefighters arrived around 12:30 a.m.

The front porch was fully engulfed in flames, and fire was seen spreading up the interior walls of the home and into the attic. Firefighters said fire was found within multiple walls of the two-story structure, taking over an hour to fully extinguish the flames.

Investigators said the cause of the fire appeared to be unintentional, with the fire causing an estimated $60,000 in damages.