Man killed in house explosion near Lake Zurich in northern suburbs – Shaw Local

The body of a man was found by authorities after a house explosion Tuesday evening near Lake Zurich.

Emergency responders were called around 8:30 p.m. to the 23500 block of North Overhill Road after multiple reports of the explosion.

Authorities were unable to trace the 77-year-old man who lived in the home. The body of an adult male was found in the rubble later during the investigation.

An autopsy indicated the man died from injuries consistent with “inhalation of products of combustion,” according to a news release from Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek. However, a positive identification will take longer as additional forensic analysis of dental records and DNA samples is required. Toxicology tests for carbon monoxide are also underway.

The house was leveled by the explosion, authorities said.

“The fact that the natural gas was flowing freely and burning in the front corner of the house hampered our efforts,” Lake Zurich Fire Chief David Pilgard said of the firefighters' initial attack on the fire.

Wheeling Police Chief James Dunne lives two blocks from the site of the explosion and initially thought it was lightning.

“I was sitting there watching the Cubs rain delay and I thought it was lightning or something because it was really loud and the whole house shook,” he said . “At first I went out and didn’t see anything, then I went out front and saw smoke coming from the house behind the next street.”

Dunne said the entire house was almost immediately engulfed in flames after the explosion.

“Everyone was forced to stay back because the flames were everywhere,” Dunne said.

Dunne had not noticed any utility work being done in the area that day and had no memory of natural gas odors in the area before the explosion.

The windows of neighbor Erinn McBride's home were torn out and the siding was damaged.

“My daughters and I were in the house. We heard a loud boom. My son was playing outside so I told the girls to go check on him, I thought a tree had fallen,” she said. “I went upstairs to look, then I came out and it was chaos. All the neighbors came out and tried to go in and save the man. There was no way to get close.

Authorities reported no other injuries from the explosion.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

· Daily Herald Staff Writer Paul Valade contributed to this report.