Fire damages Elgin home

A fire Tuesday afternoon caused $110,000 damage and rendered a home on Elgin's near east side uninhabitable.

Firefighters were called at 12:57 p.m. for a fire in the 600 block of Linden Avenue, said David Schmidt, acting battalion chief for the Elgin Fire Department.

"When we first pulled up (at 1 p.m.) we had heavy smoke and fire on the first floor," Schmidt said.

No injuries were reported and the fire was extinguished by about 1:09 p.m.

Schmidt said a mom who was home that afternoon with a friend smelled smoke and discovered a fire when she opened the laundry room door. The woman grabbed her 1-year-old son, the three left the home and called authorities.

Schmidt said rescue crews examined the infant for possible smoke inhalation but the baby was not taken to a hospital. The three-level home, which is built into the side of a hill, sustained about $80,000 in smoke and fire damage. Another $30,000 in contents was destroyed, Schmidt said.

Schmidt said the fire originated in the laundry room but investigators are still determining what caused it.

The Red Cross is providing assistance to the family of seven.