Elgin police question one in parking deck fire

Elgin police charged a homeless woman in connection with a fire that erupted Tuesday at a downtown parking deck that destroyed two cars and damaged a minivan.

Elgin Deputy Police Chief Jeff Swoboda said 58-year-old Linda Harriston, no address, was charged with two counts of arson Tuesday in connection with the blaze.

Elgin Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Michaels said rescue crews were called at 11:56 a.m. to the top floor of the deck at 200 E. Chicago St. The fire was contained within about 10 minutes.

Michaels said firefighters found a woman on the top floor who made some incriminating statements, so she was turned over to police for questioning.

"On the top floor, three cars were actively burning," Michaels said Tuesday afternoon. "Right now, it's under investigation. We had our cause and origin investigators out there. (The fire) was going pretty good. There was a lot of black smoke. They were heavily involved. They didn't have any paint on them."

No injuries were reported. A damage estimate was not immediately available, although Michaels said two cars were totaled and a minivan was burned on one side, along with two of its tires.

Police and fire officials continued to investigate the incident late Tuesday.

Daily Herald staff writer Amie Shak contributed to this report.