Firefighter injured at scene of Elgin mattress fire

Authorities are investigating the cause of a mattress fire in the bedroom of a first-floor Elgin apartment that caused an estimated $2,000 in damages Sunday morning.

No residents were injured, but a firefighter was taken to Advocate Sherman Hospital for a leg injury, said Battalion Chief Bryan McMahon. He has since been released.

Firefighters responding at 10:08 a.m. to a reported house fire at 174 S. Gifford St. arrived to find smoke coming from the side of the building, officials said. They found a mattress on fire in first-floor bedroom, brought it outside through a window and extinguished it in the front yard, according to the fire department. While investigating the scene of the fire, "investigators were stumped" on what could've caused it, McMahon said. Though McMahon said it seems the fire started directly on the mattress, there was little material remaining, making it difficult to investigate, he said.

Residents of the first-floor apartment were not home at the time of the fire, McMahon said. Residents of the second-floor apartment had called 911 after a smoke detector woke them.

"Those folks really saved the apartment," McMahon said.

Damage was minor in the bedroom and minimal throughout the rest of the apartment. After the smoke was cleared and fire investigators finished at the scene, residents were allowed to move back in to their homes.