The Chicago Fire Alarm Office received calls this morning reporting an explosion at a house in the 6600 block of South Keating. Companies arrived to find a bungalow that was leveled and fire in the adjacent buildings on either side. The alarm was escalated to a 2-11 and a Haz Mat Level I. Apparently there were two occupants in the house at the time of the explosion, both of whom were out of the rubble when firefighters arrived.
Tim Olk and Steve Redick were both at the scene and will have photos to share later in the day. In the meantime, the Chicago Tribune has an article HERE. They report that:
A man and a woman were taken to a hospital in critical condition after an apparent gas explosion leveled a Southwest Side house Sunday morning.
The 1½-story bungalow in the 6600 block of South Keating Avenue in the West Lawn neighborhood exploded about 6:30 a.m., according to police and fire authorities.
A woman in her 50s and a man in his 40s were inside the home at the time and suffered second-degree burns. They were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, according to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford.
Though it is believed everyone inside the house is accounted for, firefighters are getting ready to enter the rubble to do a complete search. The roof of the exploded home was about 2½-feet off the ground. “A portion of it is still intact,” Langford said.
The homes next door were badly damaged by fire. An 80-year-old woman was inside one of them but she was not hurt, Langford said.
