Kane County communities saw the third house fire in five days Wednesday, when a blaze erupted in a home on Elgin’s East Side.

According to a news releases from the Elgin Fire Department, residents made it out safely prior to the arrival of the Fire Department. A resident said the house is in Cook County, just outside Kane County’s borders.

Preliminary fire loss estimates exceed $200,000, and the fire remains under investigation by the Elgin Fire Department.

(CREDIT: Google Maps)

Firefighters responded at around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday (Jan. 16, 2019) to the 300 block of Park Street for a report of a possible house fire.

The first Fire Department unit arrived on scene about three minutes after dispatch, officials said. Upon arrival, companies found smoke coming from the rear door of the occupancy and were informed by the occupants that the basement was on fire.

The initial crews worked to advance into the basement but were unable to gain access due to a combination of heat and excessive storage, the news release said. Further contributing to the difficulties controlling the fire was the building construction.

The older home was built prior to the use of modern fire stopping, and fire was able to travel through the walls unimpeded, to the upper floors and attic of the home, Elgin Fire Department spokesperson Richard J. Cummings said.

The Fire Department upgraded the fire to a second alarm, deploying a total of 38 Elgin firefighters. Eleven other area fire departments provided assistance either on scene or by covering Elgin stations.

This is the third structure fire in Kane County since Jan. 12, when a split-level duplex caught fire in the 500 block of Thorndale Drive in Elgin. That home was deemed uninhabitable after the blaze.

On Jan. 13, St. Charles firefighters battled a garage fire of a home at 1809 Cambridge Drive. Fire loss in that fire is estimated at $25,000 to the structure, a vehicle that was parked in the garage and its contents.

SOURCE: Elgin Fire Department news release

Read More

Weekend Fires Destroy Elgin Home, Damage Garage in St. Charles