Gas Explosion Damages Des Plaines Townhomes
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A townhouse building in unincorporated Des Plaines sustained major damage Thursday morning in a gas explosion.
Witnesses said it happened around 8:40 a.m. at the Crest Wood Condominiums. Officials said it happened in the basement of a townhome at 9955 Linda Lane.
Daisy Roman was asleep in one of the two garden units in the six-unit building at the time.
"I heard an explosion. What woke me up was the ceiling in my face. When I got up, everything was blown away. The ceiling was falling down. Everything was already gone," she said.
Roman escaped with some scratches on her face, but no serious injuries.
"I'm really thankful, because it could have been worse," she said.
Fire officials said no one else was in the building at the time.
At least one wall of the building partly collapsed, and several windows were blown out. At least one car parked behind the building also appeared to be damaged by debris from the collapsed wall.
The cause of the blast was under investigation.
"There was an odor of gas, and we're not sure if that happened because of an explosion, or if it caused the explosion," North Maine Fire Protection District Chief Rick Dobrowski said.
No one will be allowed back inside the building for the time being, due to the structural damage caused by the blast.