Fire Department

Body Found in Debris of Gurnee Home Explosion: Official

A body was found in the smoldering rubble of a house explosion in Gurnee Friday night that also sent a neighbor to the hospital.

The explosion occurred sometime in the early evening in the 18400 block of West Streamwood Court. Both homes on either side of the one that exploded sustained damage as well, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Department.

Officials had not other information on the body found in the debris.

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The injured person was a resident of one of the neighboring homes, not the one that exploded, the sheriff's office said. Their condition was not immediately known.

It was unclear if anyone was inside the home at the time of the explosion and authorities were attempting to contact the homeowner.

An aerial view of the scene showed flames licking from a crater where the house once stood. Debris was scattered along the neighborhood and two other homes were visibly damaged from splintered support beams, paneling and other detritus. What appeared to be ash floated atop a large pond hundreds of feet from the burning crater.

At least one responder in a yellow reflective vest could be seen surveying the charred foundation as firefighters began dousing the flames with a hose.

An official confirmed North Shore Gas crews were on scene gathering information about the explosion.

No other information was immediately available.

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