DVD player sparks car fire on way to school

[ahstuzl2020]

(ELGIN) Flames sparked by a DVD player destroyed a van just after a man drove his granddaughter to school in it Thursday morning in northwest suburban Elgin.

Emergency officials were notified about 7:47 a.m. about a van on fire in the parking lot of St. John’s Lutheran School at 101 N. Spring St. in Elgin, according to Sue Olafson, spokeswoman for the Elgin Police and Fire departments.

The owner of the 1995 Ford Econoline van was driving his granddaughter to the school when he noticed something smoking in the vehicle as he approached, Olafson said. The grandfather usually pops in a movie during the ride, she said.

After pulling in to the parking lot and taking his granddaughter inside, he came back out to find the van engulfed in flames, Olafson said. Crews put out the fire within minutes, but it totaled the vehicle, leaving it a “shell,” she said.

Officials think the blaze started as a small electrical fire caused by the DVD player, Olafson said.

No one was injured, and the school was not affected by the incident as crews continue cleaning up the parking lot Thursday morning, Olafson said.