Photo by Meghan Christine Fuson.
Photo by Meghan Christine Fuson.

A man who had lost his home to foreclosure was the one found dead after an explosion leveled the house in Gurnee last month, according to a report by the Chicago Sun-Times.

On September 8 at around 6:05 p.m., the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Gurnee Fire Department, along with other fire departments, were dispatched to a house explosion in the 36400 block of Streamwood Drive in unincorporated Gurnee.

When first responders arrived the entire house was leveled and fully involved in fire.

It took crews almost two and a half hours to extinguish the fire because of an active gas leak from a ruptured natural gas line. Shortly after the fire was extinguished, there was a body located inside the debris of the residence in the basement, officials said.

Photo by Vini Nambiar.
Photo by Vini Nambiar.

On September 11 an autopsy was performed by the Lake County Coroner’s Office. Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper said that a preliminary autopsy report indicated that the victim had died from smoke inhalation. The coroner said that there were no dental records available to help in identifying the victim so DNA testing was necessary.

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On October 10, Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper said that DNA testing revealed that the victim who was killed in the explosion was Boris Slaskin, 59, of Gurnee. According to a report by the Chicago Sun-Times, Slaskin’s home was foreclosed by the bank and was put up for sheriff’s sale on July 11.

The sale was approved by a judge on August 10 and the new owner took possession on August 21. Slaskin, who was the former owner, had remained in the home throughout the foreclosure process, the Sun-Times reported.

The new owner had made an agreement with Slaskin to move out on September 10. The house explosion happened on September 8, just two days prior to the scheduled move out.

Authorities said that six other houses were damaged by debris from the explosion. A female occupant of one of the houses sustained a minor injury from falling debris inside her residence, sheriff’s officials said. She was treated and released at the scene.

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Photo by Heather Paige
Photo by Heather Paige

Several people had reported to Lake and McHenry County Scanner that they felt the explosion from several miles away.

The cause of the explosion has not yet been released by the State Fire Marshal. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 847-549-5200.