East side Elgin Fire injures one

An early morning Sunday blaze on Elgin's east side left one firefighter slightly injured, authorities said today.

The firefighter was treated on the scene for minor burns he sustained on his elbow while battling a fire at 160 Kimball St.

Although nobody else was injured, it was not immediately known whether the 18 people living in the apartment complex would have to find somewhere else to live, said Battalion Chief Greg Benson.

Code enforcement officers were expected to make the final call today and the Red Cross was already on the scene to help with any pending relocation efforts, he said.

At 5:35 a.m., firefighters were called to the eight-unit, two-and-a-half story building to extinguish flames that originated in a first-floor studio apartment, then spread to the attic.

A majority of the residents had evacuated on their own before firefighters got the rest to safety, Benson said.

Most of the fire, so far estimated to have caused $200,000 worth of damage, was out within a half-hour, Benson said.

The cause remains under investigation.

Units from Hoffman Estates, Bartlett and Rutland-Dundee assisted on the scene. Carpentersville sent an ambulance.