Elgin fire engulfs 2 garages, damages 3 homes

A fire that started in or near an Elgin garage early Tuesday evening spread to a neighboring garage and ended up damaging three homes, according to fire officials.

A resident of a house on the 600 block of Cleveland Avenue called 911 after seeing the garage on fire behind their home at 5:36 p.m., officials said.

When firefighters arrived, the blaze had spread to a nearby attached garage to the north. Both buildings were engulfed in flames, said Elgin Fire Department Batallion Chief Terry Bruce.

The house on the property where the fire started also suffered fire damage to a small portion of the home, and flames from the engulfed garages burned up siding on two other houses, Bruce said.

The blaze was under control in six minutes, but had caused an estimated $50,000 in total damage, officials said.

Bruce said there were no vehicles in either garage, and both garages were completely destroyed in the fire.

The cause of the blaze remained under investigation late Tuesday night. Bruce said it didn’t seem like anyone was inside or near the garages when the fire broke out.

“Not even a guess at this time,” he said.