Winds fuel Elgin house fire

A house fire that started on an Elgin family’s deck Thursday afternoon was fueled by strong winds and caused extensive damage throughout the home.

A contractor was finishing up work on the home’s siding on the 2400 block of Crystal Creek Lane when he spotted flames coming from the back of the home, said Elgin Fire Battalion Chief Bryan McMahan.

The man alerted the resident and her daughter who were inside the home and possibly asleep, allowing them to escape safely, McMahan said.

Fire crews were called to the blaze at 1:53 p.m. and brought the fire under control in about 15 minutes, McMahan said.

Although the fire was contained to the deck and a back room of the house, there was extensive heat and smoke damage throughout the entire first and second floor, McMahan said.

“With the high winds, it really spread fast,” he said.

The blaze left the home uninhabitable and caused about $80,000 in damage to the structure and about $100,000 to the contents of the home, officials said.

“Everything that was in the first and second floor was smoke- and heat-damaged,” McMahan said.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Thursday night. Officials said there were grills on the deck, but the homeowners had not used them since the weekend.

South Elgin firefighters assisted at the scene.

There were no reported injuries.