Chicago firefighters responded to a reported fire in a large warehouse complex last night at 4834 S. Halsted. First arriving units found a 200×500, 5-story, fire-resistive structure with heavy smoke pushing out of the first floor. After a brief interior attack, companies were pulled out to initiate defensive operations. The alarm was upgraded to a 2-11 and a special call was made for Engine 81 with Hose Wagon 6-1-1.
The Chicago Tribune reported:
One firefighter was injured at an extra-alarm blaze in an abandoned factory in the Back of the Yards neighborhood that was being brought under control this evening.
The fire started in the abandoned L-shaped building west of 48th Street and Halsted Avenue about 5:45 p.m. The firefighter was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment, where he was alert and comfortable this evening, according to the Fire Department.
The factory building is of concrete construction, so was not as difficult to contain the fire as the recent extra-alarm fire in Bridgeport.
About a dozen fire department vehicles were stationed around the vacant warehouse Monday evening as others blocked off Halsted between 47th and 49th streets.
Firefighters called to the scene were confronted with volumes of “thick black smoke” streaming out of the warehouse’s windows, said deputy fire comissioner John McNicholas.
The entire Tribune article is HERE with a video and several images.
Tower Ladders and the Snorkel were positioned to be put to work, but the fire was determined to be involving contents and not the building itself. Another special request was made for Engine 106 with 9-2-3, the Mobile Ventilation Unit.
Tim Olk, Steve Redick, and Larry Shapiro went to the scene, but there was not much to see.
