A fire on the 9000 block of Sheridan Avenue in Brookfield Wednesday destroyed a house, killing six dogs.
According to Fire Chief Jim Adams, all residents were out of the house at the time of the fire and were unharmed.
In an email, Adams wrote the fire department first heard word of the fire at 10:50 a.m. Wednesday, when it was reported the family’s dog walker was met with heavy smoke after opening the back door. Two Brookfield fire engines were dispatched to the fire with support from the fire departments of La Grange, La Grange Park and McCook. Additional units from Riverside and Lyons were later dispatched to the house. Fire crews remained on the scene until around 4 p.m. to ensure the fire was extinguished.
Two of the family’s dogs ran out of the house when the dog walker first opened the back door, Adams wrote. The fire crew later recovered the bodies of the family’s other six dogs, which were all found within the home.
According to Adams, the fire appeared to have started in the house’s kitchen, and fire investigators believe the cause was accidental. Adams described the fire as “deep-seated,” having burnt through the kitchen floor, and wrote it caused “severe fire and smoke damage” to the home, rendering it uninhabitable.
A GoFundMe fundraiser created Thursday, Feb. 1, said homeowners Tim and Shelly Field of Brookfield lost everything in the fire except for “the clothes on their back” and their two pet dogs who escaped. The fundraiser, organized by Brookfield resident Krista Lapiana, also said that Shelly Field is the owner of Doggy-A-GoGo, a professional pet grooming business in Riverside.
To donate to the fundraiser, visit https://gofund.me/437c40fb.
