Friday, January 2, 2015

1 DEAD, 1 HURT IN APPARENT EXPLOSION, FIRE IN MUNDELEIN, CHICAGO



1 Dead, 1 Hurt In Apparent Explosion, Fire In Mundelein, CHICAGO



January 2, 2015 12:39 PM

Firefighters battled a blaze at a home in Mundelein, after an apparent explosion around noon on Friday. (Credit: CBS)

Updated 01/02/15 – 2:33 p.m.

CHICAGO (CBS) – At least one person was killed, and another was injured, in an apparent explosion and fire in north suburban Mundelein.
Crews responded to the fire shortly after noon Friday at Killarney Pass Drive and Highland Road in the Loch Lomond subdivision in Mundelein.

Neighbors reported hearing two loud booms, and said the blast was powerful enough to knock items off shelves and walls.

One person died, and at least one other was taken to a hospital.
Neighbors said a man lives in the house with his two children and their grandmother, but it was not immediately clear who was killed and who was injured.

The house had been listed for sale before the explosion.











UPDATE





One person died and another was injured after a home exploded in the 900 block of Killarney Pass Drive in Mundelein Friday, according to Mundelein Fire Chief Tim Sashko.



Fire officials responded to the home in the Loch Lomond subdivision around 11:30 a.m. after 30 residents called about a possible explosion. The blast originated from the garage behind the house, Sashko said, but fire officials did not yet know what happened.





The Lake County Coroner’s office said the deceased is a man. The coroner’s office has not released the identity because the person needed to identify the deceased is hospitalized, coroner’s officials said.


An autopsy is planned for Monday morning, said Deputy Chief Coroner Orlando Portillo.



Mundelein Deputy Police Chief Don Hansen said the investigation into the source of the fire is continuing and they have neither confirmed the cause nor ruled anything out. He expects investigators to be on the scene until late Friday night

As the building fell to pieces Friday afternoon, firefighters struggled to reach the inner areas that were still ablaze. Several trucks and cars from North Shore Gas were on scene, as well as 12 fire departments comprising 89 firefighters. Midlothian Road near Fremont Library was also shut down to all traffic.