Fire that injured 15 in Des Plaines still under investigation
The cause of a reported explosion and fire at a Des Plaines apartment building remained under investigation Thursday by local, state and federal authorities.
Fifteen people were injured in the blaze, which erupted about 1 a.m. Wednesday at a three-story building on the 1200 block of Harding Avenue.
Eight people, including four children, required treatment at either Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge or Endeavor Health Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Des Plaines Fire Chief Matt Matzl said. Three of those adults were critically injured, he said.
The children and one adult later were released from the hospitals, Matzl said.
Seven other people were treated at the scene and released.
The blaze took hours to put out and left all 12 apartments uninhabitable. Crews from 16 area fire departments assisted at the scene.
Des Plaines firefighters and police, the Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security, the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating.