"Hoarder conditions" force Aurora firefighters to tackle house fire from above

Aurora Fire Rescue crews rushed to a burning home in the 1000 block of North Racine Street on Saturday afternoon. Investigators said the hoarder conditions were so extreme that firefighters could barely move around the inside of the home to search for the possibility that people were trapped inside. 

Crews were alerted to the fire in a vacant home around 2:20 p.m. on Sept. 5. When they arrived, crews saw smoke from the roof. Two firefighters went inside to begin a primary search. They could barely move inside the home. 

Because of the severe circumstances within the home, exterior windows had to be broken so firefighters could use thermal imaging cameras. Those cameras were used to scan for "heat signatures and possible victims" according to Aurora Fire Rescue. 

Firefighters on the roof cut vents in the roof so the interior could be flooded from above with water and foam, which helped crews extinguish the fire. 

Crews were unable to find any possible victims inside the home. 

Investigators determined the origin of the fire was in the kitchen, with a possible cause of either an unattended cooking fire or the improper disposal of smoking materials.