Elgin firefighters found the 56-year-old man laying on a hallway floor, his town house on Creekside Circle fully engulfed in the flames of an early Christmas Eve morning fire.

“Once we got him out, we started CPR in the stairwell,” Fire Chief Robb Cagann said. “The ambulance crew did everything they could to save him. They continued to perform resuscitation on the way to the hospital. He never improved.”

He was pronounced dead at an area hospital, his identity still not released because the Kane County coroner’s office has been unable to locate his relatives, Chief Deputy Coroner Loren Carrera said.

Not even a day later, Elgin fire crews would be out battling another fire that would kill another Elgin man. Clarence Wilson Jr., 73, died inside his Bradley Circle town house about 3 p.m. Christmas Day.

“We’ll go years without a (fire) fatality,” Cagann said. “It was such an unusual weekend. It’s certainly an event for the crews dealing with it. There’s no doubt.”

The two fires were among five the Elgin Fire Department handled over the course of four days. In addition to two men losing their lives, seven families were left with uninhabitable fire-damaged homes.

The other fires occurred in the 300 block of Ann Street on Christmas Eve, the 300 block of North Crystal Avenue on Christmas Day and the 1100 block of Mohawk Court on Sunday.

“(The 12:30 a.m. Sunday incident) was an attic fire started by a faulty chimney system,” Cagann said. “The good thing about this event is the occupants were up and awake. They had no idea there was a fire above their heads in the attic (until a smoke detector went off).”

Each fire is under investigation, with Elgin fire investigators being assisted by the state fire marshal’s office and the Elgin Police Department. None appear to be suspicious, Cagann said.

For a department that might go for months without responding to a fire and years without a fire fatality, a spate of major fires in such a short time is extremely rare, the chief said.

“These were substantial events for us,” Cagann said. Because of the timing, some firefighters ended up working multiple fires, he said.

“I think there is a mental toll these types of things can have on people, but I also believe firefighters and paramedics often have a unique perspective about these things,” Cagann said. “You know getting into this business that these are things you can encounter.”

Some of the department’s firefighters have had some basic training on how to help their co-workers deal traumatic events such as fatalities, he said.

“It’s firefighters taking care of firefighters. We have that team available to our people,” Cagann said. “We also have a small group of chaplains who are available to check in on guys.”

Those who worked the fires seem to be doing OK, and Cagann lauded their skills in containing the blazes so they didn’t spread to other units or buildings.

Working smoke detectors are absolutely essential if people have a hope of getting out of a burning house or apartment, Cagann said.

The fire department provides them for free, and even installed them for residents before the COVID-19 pandemic put that program on hiatus. Anyone who wants a free smoke detector that they can install themselves should call 847-931-6175.

Gloria Casas is a freelancer for The Courier-News.