Oak Park building explosion leaves man injured, 12 people displaced
OAK PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- A dozen people were forced out of their homes by an explosion in an apartment building in Oak Park.
The explosion happened Wednesday evening at 221 S. Maple Ave., a townhouse apartment building.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, the man who lived in the unit where the fire and explosion happened was injured – and remained in serious condition Wednesday night. Meanwhile, his neighbors are displaced – and fire investigators are trying to determine what led to the destruction.
A view of the six-unit building late Wednesday showed the aftermath of whatever rocked the Oak Park structure – which chunks of the exterior brick walls missing and debris everywhere.
"My daughter and I was home, and we felt the building shake," said Ethan Colchamiro.
By the time Colchamiro looked outside the window of his apartment – just east of Harlem Avenue and a short distance from the Green Line tracks – the situation was serious.
"The street was so black with smoke, you couldn't see right in front of your face," he said.
That smoke poured from the end unit, where a man was inside. The preliminary investigation shows before the fire, there was some type of an explosion.
Earlier in the day, at least one neighbor smelled something odd.
"A neighbor had knocked on our door and said she thought she smelled something," Colchamiro said. "We went over to her unit, and really, it just smelled like wildfire aroma that's been in our area for weeks now."
The Oak Park Fire Department was working late Wednesday to determine if there was a gas leak, or exactly what sparked such destruction.
Oak Park Fire Chief Ron Kobyleski said all six units have been left uninhabitable. Thus, 12, people, including Colchamiro, are unable even to go back inside their units – and many are left confused by what happened.
"I'm just really nervous, because I don't know if this is something that could also happen in my unit," Colchamiro said. "I'd love to know more about what caused it."
As the cause remains unclear, everyone is thinking of the man found in the unit – rushed to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood in serious condition.
"My thoughts are with him and just hoping that he has a speedy recovery," Colchamiro said.
Police will watch over the building Wednesday night to make sure no one goes inside throughout the night to compromise the scene.
The American Red Cross was requested to help those who were displaced.