Elgin man injured after explosion inside laundry room

An Elgin man who was cleaning in his laundry room was injured when the cleaning product’s fumes ignited sparking an explosion Thursday afternoon, officials said.

The force of the blast blew open the piece of drywall covering the home’s attic access and spread the fire into the attic, fire officials said.

The man’s clothes caught on fire during the blaze, but he was able to escape the house with his two young children, said Elgin Fire Department Batallion Chief Terry Bruce.

Firefighters arrived at the ranch-style home on the 1100 block of Hunter Drive about three minutes after the 3:06 p.m. 911 call, Bruce said.

The fire, which started in the laundry room, was growing and had spread into the attic and partially into a hallway.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze in about ten minutes, but the fire caused about $120,000 in damage and left the home uninhabitable, Bruce said.

The injured homeowner was taken to Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin and later transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

“It didn’t look too bad,” Bruce said of the man’s injuries.

Neither of the children, ages 7 and 9, were injured in the fire.

Firefighters were forced to cut a hole in the roof and knock out a number of windows while battling the flames, Bruce said.