Video captures house explosion near Lake Zurich

Two children playing basketball in an alley near Lake Zurich got the shock of their lives when a house a few doors away exploded near Lake Zurich on Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, the Lake County coroner said more testing must be done before the identity of the person found among the rubble of the house that exploded in the 23000 block of Overhill Drive in the unincorporated county is determined. in Lake society around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday can be determined.

In the doorbell video posted to YouTube by Ulises Hernandez, two children are playing basketball in the front yard when the house explodes behind them, knocking one of the children to the ground.

The children run away screaming before people leave their house and notice the house down the street in flames.

The children were not injured but were clearly shaken by the explosion as they fled.

Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday that additional testing, potentially involving DNA or dental records, would be needed before determining whether the 77-year-old homeowner at the address was the person found dead inside the rubble of the house that exploded and caught fire Tuesday.

She added in the release that autopsy results indicate the deceased had injuries consistent with inhaling combustion products, but additional toxicology testing – including carbon monoxide testing – is underway.

Lake Zurich Fire Chief David Pilgard said at the scene early Wednesday morning, firefighters were called to the home in the Forest Lake subdivision at 8:28 p.m. and found the one-story home heavily engulfed by the flames as they arrived.

He said the explosion leveled the house and damaged two neighboring houses to the north and south.

In Hernandez's video, debris can be seen landing in the driveway near where the children were playing, two doors down.

The occupants of the home were unknown and missing when firefighters began putting out the fire, Pilgard said.

Firefighters also immediately began checking on neighbors to make sure everyone was safe, Pilgrad said.

“The main concerns tonight were about the situation of the residents of the home where the incident actually occurred,” Pilgard said. “Our next priority was two things: neighboring homes to make sure these residents were accounted for, making sure they didn't catch fire tonight, and establishing a water supply to put out the fire.”

A Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was immediately activated to bring in additional manpower and water due to the lack of fire hydrants in the area.

Pilgard said firefighters raised the call to the third alarm for additional water and manpower before the fire was deemed under control around 10 p.m. Tuesday.

A total of 14 tankers, 16 engines, 3 ladder trucks, 5 squads, 5 ambulances, 14 chiefs and a rehab canteen truck responded to the incident, Pilgard said.

Neighboring homes suffered damage from the initial explosion and some damage from the accompanying fire, Pilgard said.

Officials from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Illinois State Fire Marshal, the Lake County Sheriff's Office and the task force Investigators from Lake County Division 4 were called to the scene to investigate the fire and determine the origin and cause of the explosion, authorities said.

ComEd and Nicor ​​also responded to the scene, Pilgard said.

Nicor ​​was asked to dig a natural gas line to the house after a gas meter was damaged in the explosion and freely flowing natural gas saturated the area, he said. declared.

Pilgard said the fire “is not necessarily suspicious, but certainly merits investigation to determine the cause of the explosion.”

The Lake Zurich Fire Department received assistance from the Antioch Fire Districts and Departments, Barrington Fire Protection District, Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District, Buffalo Grove Fire Protection District, Carpentersville Fire Protection District Cary Fire, Countryside Fire Protection District, Crystal Lake Fire Protection and Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection. District, Des Plaines, Fox Lake Fire Protection District, Fox River Grove, Grayslake, Grand Round Lake Fire Protection District, Gurnee, Highland Park, Hoffman Estates, Inverness Fire Protection District, Lake Forest, Lake Villa, Libertyville, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District, Long Grove Fire Protection District, McHenry Fire Protection District, Mount Prospect, Mundelein, Township Fire Protection District from Newport, Northbrook, Nunda, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Richmond, Rolling Meadows, Round Lake, Schaumberg, Spring Grove, Streamwood, Wauconda Fire Protection District, Wheeling and Waukegan.

Several residents living on or near the Overhill Drive home said their homes shook from the force of the explosion.

Brenda Gornick said Tuesday evening on the Lake & McHenry County Facebook page that she lived near Hunter's Creek and Chestnut Corners and that her house shook from the explosion.

“I thought it was a big firework near my house that went off,” she said.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local news website covering important issues like shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents and more in Lake and McHenry counties .