Fire badly damages South Elgin KinderCare

A South Elgin day care center will be closed for the foreseeable future after it was badly damaged by a fire early Wednesday.

Crews from several departments responded to the blaze reported at about 5:30 a.m. at Spring Street KinderCare, 1250 W. Spring St., before the business was scheduled to open. The building was unoccupied when firefighters arrived, and no injuries were reported.

Witnesses reported large flames shooting through the roof of the building.

"We are so thankful that this happened after hours and that none of our teachers, families and children were in the building when this happened," said Colleen Moran, spokeswoman for Oregon-based KinderCare Education, parent company of KinderCare Learning Centers.

The company has more than 100 locations in the Chicago area for children ages six weeks to 12 years; the closest ones to South Elgin are in Elgin, St. Charles and Bartlett.

The South Elgin center served about 100 children, although only about 80 were there this week because of spring break, Moran said. The center first opened in 1979 and has served thousands of children.

KinderCare staff members are working with all the South Elgin families to find the best placement at other KinderCares for their children, such as proximity to home or work, Moran said.

The company is also working with teachers to relocate them to other centers, with the goal of keeping children's classes together, she said.

"We know that consistency and routine are so important for young children," she said. "We are confident we will find a space for all of our children and teachers in our centers in the area."

Fire Chief Bill Sohn said more than 20 investigators, including from Kane County's fire investigations task force, were on the scene Wednesday afternoon to investigate the cause of the fire.

"Three-fourths of the roof is laying on the floor," he said. "There's probably not a room that hasn't been touched by fire or smoke."

The task force includes detection dogs from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that can sniff for accelerants, all part of investigation procedures, Sohn said.

Firefighters from South Elgin, Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, West Dundee, East Dundee, Hanover Park, Pingree Grove, Streamwood, Elburn and Fox River were among those on the scene.

• Daily Herald staff photographer Rick West contributed to this report.