Nicor Crews Still Seek Source Of Gas Leak After Homer Glen Explosion
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Nicor crews continued to search for an underground leak in Homer Glen on Friday, after two people were injured in a house explosion in southwest suburban Homer Glen on Thursday.
At least 23 homes were evacuated after the explosion around 4 p.m. Thursday in the 14100 block of South Parker Road in Homer Glen.
A father and daughter inside the home were taken to Silver Cross Hospital to be treated for burn injuries. They were later airlifted to the burn unit at Loyola University Medical Center.
A gas leak had been reported earlier in the day. Officials said 23 homes in a half-mile radius around the site of the explosion were evacuated because of the leak.
Northwest Homer Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Todd Fanfara said cots were ready overnight at Homer Junior High School, in case anyone needed a place to sleep, but no one did. Families forced out of their homes found other places to stay, but were still not allowed back home Friday morning.
Nicor spokesman Joe DelReal said crews were still working on finding and fixing the leak Friday morning.
"Repairs are underway. It is on our distribution system, which is part of our underground network of pipes," he said. "We don't know, specifically. We just know that we have stopped the flow of gas, and the leak for now is not an issue, but we continue to work on our system."
Fanfara said the extreme cold has slowed down the process of digging to find the source of the leak.
