Evanston fire crews responded to a general alarm fire shortly before 8:30 Saturday morning in a home at 2301 Foster St.
They found flames shooting from the basement of the two-story frame multi-family home and needed about 20 minutes to completely extinguish the blaze.
Three adults and four children were displaced from the home by the fire, but there were no reports of injuries.
Fire units from Morton Grove, Skokie and Winnetka were among those assisting Evanston in responding to the fire.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.