$750,000 damage in South Elgin fire

A house fire Thursday in South Elgin caused $750,000 damage, and one firefighter suffered a minor injury, fire officials said Friday.

Firefighters were called at 12:42 a.m. to the 500 block of Cole Drive from a neighbor saying flames could be seen inside the home. Authorities said when they arrived heavy flames were showing from the east side exterior of the two-story, single family home.

In addition, authorities said the home’s gas meter was leaking, adding to the heat and flames.

The fire was so hot an adjacent home was smoking and the siding began to melt, authorities said.

Authorities said a female resident had been awakened by a burning smell and soon discovered the house ablaze. She woke her husband and they and their children escaped.

The family had fire alarms inside the home, but no detectors on the side of the home where the fire was raging, authorities said.

The injured firefighter was struck by a falling object from a roofline while attempting to shut off the gas line, officials said.

South Elgin Fire was assisted by departments from Elgin, Pingree Grove, St. Charles, Hanover Park, Bartlett and West Dundee.

The fire took several hours to extinguish, officials said.

Of the damage, $400,000 was to the structure, according to fire officials.

Officials said the preliminary cause of the blaze appears to be electrical. The spreading fire reached the gas meter, which also caught fire, then spread to the attic. The spread was also aided because of a whole house fan, authorities said, which had been running in the attic, fueling the flames.