Explosion's cause still being studied; 6 in hospital

Fresh smoke continued to rise Wednesday from the rubble of a Tuesday night house explosion on Elgin's east side, but the question of why a natural gas leak next door would have wreaked such havoc had yet to be answered.

The explosion occurred at 8:30 p.m. at 708 Elma Ave., while Nicor Gas workers were checking a gas leak at 710 Elma, authorities said.

Details of the blast that sent seven people to several hospitals began to emerge Wednesday.

The Elgin Fire Department remained on the scene Wednesday to ensure the debris, expected to smolder for the next few days, didn't reignite. Firefighters and Nicor gas workers were on site to sort out what led to the explosion.

"What we had last night was a very unusual event," Elgin Assistant Fire Chief Rudy Horist said Wednesday, adding that it has been "several" years since the city has experienced a similar incident.

Horist said five people were in the house at the time it exploded. They, one Nicor worker and a neighbor across the street who risked his life to save two people from inside the burning home, were hospitalized. All but two have since been released.

Vito Morales, a cousin of the family who lived in the house, identified the five in the house:

• Caroline Montes, 23, is still at Sherman Hospital in Elgin, and family friend Sabiola Martinez, 23, is still at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates. They're both students at Northern Illinois University.

• Caroline's father, Isais Montes, 50, is in critical condition at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood. He was taken to the burn unit there after he first was taken to Sherman in Elgin.

• Caroline's mother, Rutila Montes, 48, was released from Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin, as was the youngest child in the family, Christian Montes, 7. Christian attends Coleman Elementary School in Elgin.

A 51-year-old Nicor worker who was investigating the leak was taken to Provena early Wednesday morning, authorities said. The worker's condition is unknown.

The neighbor, who asked that he not be identified, sustained minor shoulder strain from carrying the boy and the child's 30-year-old mother out of the house. He was treated and released from Provena St. Joseph Hospital.

Nicor spokesman Richard Caragol said a technician responded to 710 Elma Ave. at 5:41 p.m. Tuesday, 18 minutes after someone reported a leak.

The technician couldn't find the origin of the leak and more crews were called in to help out.

There were no evacuations during the inspection, Caragol said, and the fire department didn't evacuate surrounding houses until after the explosion.

Firefighters received the call at 8:54 p.m. that the house had exploded and arrived four minutes later to find the house on fire.

"It sounded like a major earthquake and things were collapsing, and then you just started seeing the smoke and the flames," said Ana Ortiz-Hollian, who lives two streets away from Elma Avenue.

By the time the fire department arrived, the five people inside the house had already been evacuated, with the man across the street assisting in getting them to safety, Horist said.

At 11:15 p.m., several homeowners were allowed to re-enter their houses. Due to the high gas readings nearby, people living just east of the explosion couldn't return home.

At 12:15 a.m., Nicor shut the gas service off at both addresses, Caragol said, although it was on at low levels Wednesday to help workers track down the leak's origin.

Firefighters were forced to let the house burn completely because they could not find the source of the gas leak, authorities said.

Meanwhile, local efforts are under way to help the family, with some residents organizing a bank account for donors, according to Morales and Veronica Noland, a family friend. Donations can be made to the Montes Family Fund at National City Bank in Elgin; more details about the bank account and other support is expected within the next few days.

"Thanks for the prayers for the father, and we're thankful for the neighbors and the firefighters that helped them out during the event," Morales said.

Firefighters from Bartlett, East Dundee, West Dundee, South Elgin, Streamwood, Carpentersville, Hoffman Estates and Pingree Grove assisted at the scene.