Roof Fire In Elgin Displaces 17
ELGIN, Ill. (STMW) -- Seventeen people were displaced Saturday night following a fire in a three-unit apartment home in northwest suburban Elgin, authorities said.
According to Elgin Fire Battalion Chief Bryan McMahan, firefighters were called to the apartments at 608 Jay St. when neighbors saw smoke coming out of the roof area about 10:12 p.m.
Firefighters were able to get into the attic area through an access panel in a second-floor kitchen and saw flames in the attic.
"Once we opened up the ceiling, the fire was put out pretty quickly," McMahan said. Smoke detectors were installed and were working, he said; but with the smoke confined to the attic, the smoke detectors did not alert residents to the fire. The fire is still under investigation, but the home sustained $50,000 in damage, he added.
No one was injured, and the structure has been red-tagged for now, he said.
Another Elgin official indicated that the fire's cause might have been electrical in nature.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
