A large fire at an encampment for people experiencing homelessness disrupted Metra trains in Elgin Wednesday evening, the commuter rail said. There is now a community-wide effort to help those displaced by the fire (Maher Kawash/ABC 7 Chicago). YouTube Tips ⓘ
Police, firefighters and paramedics from Elgin responded about 4:48 p.m. Wednesday, December 4, 2024 to a report of a fire at a homeless encampment in the block of 500 North State Street (Route 31) in Elgin. No injuries were reported.
Upon arrival at “Tent City”, firefighters found two to three structures completely engulfed in flames, according to the City of Elgin. Fire crews acted swiftly to bring the fire under control, according to the city of Elgin.
Winds at 4:52 p.m. Wednesday were from the West at 26 MPH, gusting to 46 MPH. Air Temperature was 39°F and falling to 33°F with a continuous downward trend to a low of about 10.9°F at 4:52 a.m. (12 hours later).
Fire Chief Robert Cagann confirmed that no injuries were reported among the residents of the encampment, and there were also no injuries to responding firefighters. A thorough search of the area was underway Wednesday night to ensure that no individuals were affected by the fire. Due to the fire location proximity to nearby railroad tracks, Metra train service through Elgin was fully suspended.
MDW tracks have been released for train movement near Big Timber Road. Inbound and outbound train service has resumed to/from Big Timber Road. (Updated 7:13pm)
— Metra MD-W (@metraMDW) December 5, 2024
Due to an ongoing fire adjacent to the tracks near Big Timber Road, outbound trains will not operate past Elgin until further notice. Passengers are encouraged to take bus #550 from the Pace Depot across the street to Big Timber (update6:29pm)
— Metra MD-W (@metraMDW) December 5, 2024
Due to an ongoing fire adjacent to the tracks near Big Timber Road, outbound trains will not operate past Elgin until further notice. A Pace bus will be accommodating passengers to Big Timber Rd. (update5:57pm)
— Metra MD-W (@metraMDW) December 5, 2024
Due to an ongoing fire adjacent to the tracks near Big Timber Road, outbound trains will not operate past Elgin until further notice. Passengers are encouraged to take bus #550 from the Pace Depot across the street to Big Timber (update6:29pm)
— Metra MD-W (@metraMDW) December 5, 2024
The cause of the fire is under investigation, and initially no cause of the fire was disclosed by the City of Elgin.
A fire in a homeless encampment disrupted Metra service on the Milwaukee District West line Wednesday evening (CBS Chicago). YouTube Tips ⓘ
Homeless encampment in Elgin engulfed in flames, no injuries reported (Angelica Sanchez/WGN News). YouTube Tips ⓘ
Firefighters also responded in the area about 5:22 p.m. to a report of wires arcing or burning near Wing Street and McClure Avenue. The power lines were down west of the Tent City homeless encampment. Elgin police reported wires down in the area.
Engine 1’s crew reported lines down to a house in the block of 700 West Wing Street in Elgin. ComEd was requested to respond to the scene.
The homeless encampment was located near the west bank of Fox River in Elgin at 553 North State Street — about three blocks east of the house with the downed wires on the property.
Initially, it was unknown to the public whether the power line disturbance in the area was related to the fire at Tent City.
Though the blaze prompted a large response from emergency crews, first responders told WGN News that no one suffered injuries.
Fire officials said calls came in just before 5 p.m. for a structure fire at a homeless encampment in the 500 block of N. State Street. Officials added that the blaze took about two and a half hours to extinguish.
Elgin Fire Engine 1’s crew reported
Authorities told locals to avoid N. State Street, Kimball St., Wing St., and the Kimball St. bridge.
Due to the fire’s proximity to train tracks, Metra alerted passengers that outbound Milwaukee District West trains would not run past Elgin until further notice. Passengers were encouraged to take bus #550 from the Pace Depot across the street to Big Timber Road.
Elgin’s Assistant Fire Chief Mike Rothecker spoke about the challenges fire crews faced as most of Chicagoland remains under a Wind Advisory.
“Some challenges were the heavy winds that were happening at the time of the fire and then it’s also in between the Metra railroad tracks, so we had to stop the train traffic and then fire companies got here and upgraded the alarm right away, brought in some additional resources took about two and a half hours to get the fire under control,” Rothecker said.
According to The Edge reporter Peter Cholewa, Tent City is an area in Elgin where many homeless people with drug or alcohol addictions camp.
The Edge is the school newspaper published at St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin.
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Due to an ongoing fire adjacent to the tracks near Big Timber Road, outbound trains will not operate past Elgin until further notice. Metra will provide updates as information becomes available.
— Metra MD-W (@metraMDW) December 4, 2024
MDW train #2225, scheduled to arrive Big Timber Road at 5:26pm will not operate past Elgin due to a fire adjacent to the tracks. Metra will provide updates as information becomes available.
— Metra MD-W (@metraMDW) December 4, 2024
MDW train #2246, scheduled to depart Big Timber Road at 5:22pm, will originate at Elgin due to a fire adjacent to the tracks near Big Timber Road. Metra will provide updates as information becomes available.
— Metra MD-W (@metraMDW) December 4, 2024
MDW train #2223, scheduled to arrive Big Timber Road at 5:00pm will not operate past Elgin due to a fire adjacent to the tracks. Metra will provide updates as information becomes available.
— Metra MD-W (@metraMDW) December 4, 2024