Elgin still probing 'suspicious' home fire

Elgin firefighters are looking into whether arson was the cause of a fire at vacant home at the southwest corner of Bowes and Randall Road on Thursday night.

Captain Dave Schmidt said the home had been unoccupied for several years and was scheduled to be razed in a few days to pave the way for the new Walmart and Sams' Club plan for that 73-acre site.

He said investigators will be interviewing witnesses and the construction company.

"When you have a fire in a vacant home and there's no utilities and no heat source and does raise suspicions," Schmidt said Friday. "It does raise red flags."

Schmidt said a patron at the Rakow Branch of the Gail Borden Library reported the fire at 7:28 p.m. Thursday and crews were on the scene in two minutes.

Because the home was vacant, firefighters set up a defensive position around the blaze to ensure it didn't spread and didn't go inside, Schmidt said.

"We're not going to risk the life of a firefighter to protect a vacant building," he said.

After year of delays, city officials signed off on a new Walmart and Sam's Club in late 2009.

Construction is expected to begin this spring on a new 177,557-square-foot store.

Construction will take about 10 to 12 months and once built, Walmart will close its existing Elgin location at Royal Boulevard and Randall.

Walmart officials have said about 75 to 100 employees will be added to the 225 already at the current Walmart store, while Sam's Club will have about 175 workers.