Minor injuries for South Elgin firefighter responding to semitrailer fire

A South Elgin firefighter suffered minor injuries Friday morning when responding to a blaze involving a semitrailer truck belonging to Direct Pallet Inc. in Elgin, officials said.

Firefighters from Elgin and South Elgin responded to the 7:13 a.m. call, initially about a car fire on the 1200 block of St. Charles Street in Elgin, said Mike Rothecker, assistant fire chief for the South Elgin and Countryside Fire Protection District. The property, a mix of industrial and office space, is in Elgin and within the South Elgin fire district, Rothecker said.

An employee who arrived about 7 a.m. found smoke coming into the building through the loading dock door of the truck, Rothecker said. The employee called 911 and told his co-workers to leave, he said.

Firefighters found heavy fire and smoke coming from the semitrailer, a pallet drying unit belonging to Direct Pallet that had several trailers around it, Rothecker said.

The alarm was upgraded to a working fire, with additional response from Bartlett, Pingree Grove, Elburn, and Fox River & Countryside firefighters.

Fire crews evacuated the entire building and the fire was under control by 9:11 a.m. Fire crews remained on the scene for another two hours to ventilate smoke and overhaul materials, Rothecker said.

No civilians were injured; the injured firefighter was taken to an urgent care facility and later released, Rothecker said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.