2nd UPDATE: Garage Fire Causes $125,000 In Damages To Batavia Home

Editor's note: This story has been updated multiple times since the original post Saturday afternoon. The latest updates are from the Batavia Fire Department, and they are in bold.

A Batavia family might have to wait two months before they can fully move back into their home after a fire damaged their garage Saturday afternoon.

Fire crews were dispatched at 2:42 p.m. Saturday to the home of Tom and Suzanne Cutrara, located on the 400 block of Ridgelawn Trail on the city's southeast side. They found a working fire in the home's three-car garage with heavy smoke, along with fire in the attic above the house, according to a press release from the .

The family said no one was seriously hurt in the fire, which was under control by 3:15 p.m. Firefighters had to break out some of the house windows when they were on scene.

The cause and origin of the fire was the spontaneous combustion of natural decorative holiday ornaments in the garage, according to the Fire Department. 

The garage and house suffered smoke damage. Estimated structural damages totaled $100,000 and content damages were $25,000.

Tom Cutrara said the fire department suspected it might have been some garland in the garage before they left the scene.

Suzanne Cutrara said her neighbor across the street spotted the fire, called 911 and also contacted her. Cutrara, her daughter and the family dog were home at the time.

"I opened the door (to the garage) and smoke came pouring in," Cutrara said, standing outside the house with her family after fire crews had left.

Cutrara closed the door and gathered her family to leave the house. Before she closed the door, she remembers touching something inside the garage that briefly burned her hand. Cutrara could not recall what she touched because everything happened so quickly.

Cutrara said that the doorknob to the garage was not hot, otherwise she would not have opened the door. A fire department paramedic treated her hand.

The family will stay in a hotel temporarily before they can move back to the home. The house was boarded up Saturday afternoon to replace the windows.

Neighbors' Eyewitness Account

Michelle Hilliard lives two houses down from the Cutrara family. She heard multiple sirens and went to see what was happening. She saw thick, black smoke coming from the Cutrara garage windows.

"I know they busted out the windows," Hilliard said, viewing the damage from her front walkway. "I don't know where the fire got to."

Hillard says she has lived on Ridgelawn Trail for 13 years and has never witnessed a fire there before. She was thankful no was hurt.

 "Everyone was OK," Hilliard said. "Everyone was standing outside."

About the Crew

Hilliard saw the following fire departments at the scene of the fire, all of which were listed in the press release:

• Batavia
• Geneva
• North Aurora
• St. Charles

There were 35 personnel on scene, according to the release. American Red Cross workers were also outside the home to address the family's needs.

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