Schaumburg fire collapses factory roof

A fire inside a Schaumburg factory caused a portion of the building's roof to collapse early Sunday morning, officials said.

Firefighters responded to and automatic alarm for a factory on the 400 block of West Lunt Avenue just before 3 a.m. Sunday but at first did not spot the fire, said Schaumburg Batallion Chief Ken Wood.

“It wasn't evident from the outside,” Wood said. “We had to search and find the fire.”

Firefighters located an office inside the factory ablaze with a 20-by-20-foot portion of the 20-foot-high roof caving in, Wood said.

Extremely high temperatures caused support beams to warp, bringing down the roof, he said.

No one was inside the factory when the fire started, and no injuries were reported.

It took firefighters about 25 minutes to bring the fire under control, but crews remained on the scene for a few hours, Wood said.

“It is still under investigation,” he said. “There is no reason to believe there was any foul play.”

Wood said there was not an active business inside the factory.

Investigators estimated the damage due to heat and smoke at $75.000, but that total might be higher once a more thorough investigation is completed.