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A front porch light started a Tuesday evening house fire on Aurora’s Southeast Side, according to fire department officials.

At 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, Aurora firefighters responded to the 2600 block of Rourke Drive for a house fire, according to a news release from fire department spokesman Capt. Jim Rhodes.

Firefighters arrived to find fire showing from the exterior of the front porch, near the front door of a two-story, single-family home, according to the news release.

A female occupant had smelled something burning, gone outside and saw the fire. She then called 911, according to the fire department.

It took 13 firefighters just less than a half hour to put the fire out, containing it to the front porch exterior, according to the news release.

Fire officials said the total fire damage was estimated at $40,000. Although the home was habitable, the occupants stayed at a nearby hotel because of interior smoke damage, according to the news release.

The fire was caused by the front porch exterior light fixture, according to the fire department.

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