$100,000 damage to Elgin home

A house in Elgin suffered $100,000 in damages Thursday after an uninsured painter started a fire with a heat gun, officials said.

No one was injured but the two-story house at 615 Prospect Blvd. was red-tagged, Elgin Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Michaels said.

The owner of the house, who lives on the first floor, and her two golden retrievers had evacuated the house by the time firefighters arrived after getting a 911 call just before noon, he said. The renter on the second floor was not home.

The 911 caller reported that smoke was coming out of the roof vents, fire officials said.

When firefighters arrived, flames were coming out of a second-floor window. Firefighters went inside the home and extinguished a fire on the second floor; additional units brought under control in 15 minutes the fire that had spread into the attic.

The painter had been hired by the homeowner to work on the exterior of the house, Michaels said. The homeowner had finished replacing the house's roof and siding two weeks ago, he said.

"The guy was there just trying to get the trim on the windows painted and spruced up," he said. "It's kind of sad."