In Oswego, Illinois, emergency crews responded to a significant fire on Thursday evening following a house explosion, as reported by WLS.
The blaze, believed to have been triggered by a gas leak, sent shockwaves through nearby residences, according to local authorities.
Fire department officials in Oswego have reported that the residents of the affected house have not yet been located.
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Helicopter footage captured by Chopper 7 around 5 p.m. showed extensive damage to a home on the 200 block of Fox Chase Drive, situated directly across from Fox Chase Elementary School.
As a precautionary measure, Oswego police have temporarily closed roads in the vicinity of the fire.
During a late Thursday update, fire officials informed ABC7 that two individuals who were inside the home at the time of the explosion are still missing.
Neighbors said right before the fire broke out, they heard what sounded like a loud boom. Then they felt their homes shake before seeing a large plume of smoke and fire.
“It was a two-story house, currently all that is standing is the front portion of the garage,” Oswego Fire Chief Joshua Flanders said.
Multiple fire crews battling the flames in the frigid cold into the evening hours.
“We’re bringing in heavy equipment to pull pieces of the house apart so that we can finish extinguishing the fire,” Flanders said. “When we arrived, we found a two-story house that was fully involved in fire and large portions of it collapsed.”
Oswego’s fire chief says fire investigators from Oswego, neighboring communities, the state fire marshal’s office and ATF will be assisting in the investigation.
The chief said Nicor shut off the gas to the home.
While there was minor damage to the two neighboring homes, fire officials say there is no danger to other homes in the area.
No further information was available.
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