At Least 1 Injured In Gurnee Explosion

CHICAGO (CBS) -- At least one person was injured Friday in a Gurnee explosion that completely leveled a home and blasted debris several blocks away.

CBS 2's Audrina Bigos reports.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said officers were dispatched to a house explosion in the 36400 block of Streamwood Dr. in Unincorporated Gurnee around 6 p.m. Friday night.

When deputies arrived, the house was fully engulfed with flames. The fire took several hours to extinguish.

Initially the Gurnee Fire Department Battalion Chief James Pellitteri said it was a miracle that no one was injured. A body, however, was later located inside the debris of the residence.

Six additional nearby homes were damaged by debris from the explosion, according to the Sheriff's Office.

One neighbor said, "My bedroom blind blew out," and others say their lights even started flickering.

"I thought it was my car exploding, or the garage -- or I thought it was a big firework. But my husband said 'no, it's something worse than that,'" Sheryl Perez said.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshall.

In:
• Gurnee