Car fire at Interstate 88 shuts down Peace Road exit

DeKALB – A car fire near the Interstate 88 interchange shut down part of Peace Road early Thursday morning.

Exits at Peace Road and I-88 were closed as fire crews worked to put out the flames in the fully-engulfed 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe.

The DeKalb Fire Department received the call about the car on fire at 7:45 a.m. and units were on the scene less than 10 minutes later, said battalion chief Don Faulhaber. The fire was out in 15 minutes.

There were no injuries and the driver was able to get out of the car, he said.

"She was driving a long way and experienced problems with the car not running right," Faulhaber said.

The car didn't just break down on the roadside.

"The car stopped running and she saw flames underneath the hood, so she exited the car," Faulhaber said. "It was well involved in the car before we even put water on it."

He said he'd expect the car to be totaled but that's up to the insurance company.

Faulhaber said car fires aren't rare, but they're not common either.

"When a car's not running right, we can get engine compartment fires," he said. "It seems more over the winter we get engine compartment fires."

DeKalb Fire Department, Illinois State Police and Illinois Department of Transportation trucks all assisted, Faulhaber said.

This is a developing story. We'll post more information as we get it.