A gas explosion erupted in north suburban Woodstock on Monday afternoon, leveling one home and damaging at least eight other buildings, including a church and school, according to authorities.
At around 12:35 p.m., the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded to the area of Tryon and Lincoln streets, where a crew had struck a gas main within a sewer line, chief Brendan Parker said. Nicor Gas, in a statement, said a third-party conducting work unrelated to Nicor damaged a natural gas pipeline.
As a precaution, firefighters evacuated the nearby St. Mary Catholic Church and advised homeowners to shelter-in-place while Nicor Gas worked to mitigate the leak, according to authorities.
Then, at 2:38 p.m., an explosion erupted at a residence in the 200 block of Lincoln Street, destroying that home and igniting fires at multiple nearby buildings. No major injuries were reported, and the home where the explosion occurred was empty at the time.
Two firefighters were transported to the hospital for evaluation, including one firefighter who was standing in the middle of the street when the explosion occurred, Parker said. That firefighter had been released from the hospital by late Monday night.
Rebecca Bosowski, whose brother and sister-in-law live at the home in question, said her sister-in-law had been at home just about 45 minutes prior to the explosion.
"There’s no words to explain," she said. "I'm glad she left and was able to get out of there and nobody was home."
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Bosowski said her brother and sister-in-law moved into the house about a year and a half ago.
"I don’t think it hit him yet," she said. "He’s just in shock, he just lost everything..."
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A GoFundMe page has been created to help the couple and their roommate, who were all displaced by the explosion.
The American Red Cross responded to the scene to assist all individuals displaced by the explosion. As a result of the gas leak, St. Mary Catholic School has canceled classes on Friday, according to a post on its Facebook page.
According to the city of Woodstock, Nicor reported that the gas leak had been contained, and the gas had been shutoff around 3:30 p.m. The utility company advised residents to check with Woodstock Fire/Rescue to ensure it was safe to return to their homes.
