The Nunda Rural FPD was called for a house fire at 3816 Tamarack Trail S in Prairie Grove Thursday night around 9:30PM. Police officers arriving first reported a two-story house fully engulfed by fire.
Here is a brief cellphone video from Tyler Tobolt roughly 20 minutes after the initial alarm.
More from Steve Redick at the Still and Box Alarm fire in Chicago, 1-27-23:
The radio traffic is pretty revealing….
Excerpts from abc7chicago.com:
The Chicago Fire Department responed to a fire around 3:30 a.m. in the 6300-block of South Central Avenue.
Flames engulfed the building, which the fire department now says is a total loss.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries, but is expected to be OK.
Employees of the business said it was Georgis Catering, which has been serving the city for 77 years. The business served meals for private planes at Midway and also worked with Meals on Wheels. Employees said about 2,000 meals for Meals on Wheels would not be distributed Friday.
Meals on Wheels Foundation of Northern Illinois said they do have emergency boxes prepared for those residents Friday. They are working to find another food provider for their seniors on Monday.
Meals On Wheels eleased a statement saying, “We are devastated at the loss that our catering partner, George “Buz” Georgis at Georgis Catering has endured. For over a decade, Georgis Catering has provided nearly 10,000 meals per week to Cook County’s most vulnerable seniors. Buz is a kind soul who has always shown up for our clients, and
Georgis Catering truly helped make a difference in our communities. Our programs serve almost 7,000 older adults and individuals with disabilities, and with Buz’s partnership we were on track to serve 700,000 meals in Cook County and nearly 1,000,000 meals program wide this year.
“At our eight sites in Cook County in Brookfield, Berwyn, Hometown, South Chicago Heights, Phoenix, Lemont Township, and at one of our stand-alone cafés in Dolton, our clients will not receive hot meals today. While they will be provided with emergency shelf stable meals, we are searching for a new caterer and trying to connect with local restaurants as quickly as we can. Our programs in Will, Kendall, and Grundy counties will continue as usual.
“We have been in touch with Buz and we hope that the community can support him as he has supported them in the past. Community members who want to support the seniors in Cook County and make sure we can quickly return to providing hot meals can contribute their time or make a donation to the Meals on Wheels Foundation of Northern Illinois. For interest in volunteering or making a gift, reach out to Zoraima Yoli at 224-471-9936 or at zcruz@mowfni.org.”
From Captured News on YouTube:
The Chicago Fire Department was called to the scene of a devastating high-rise fire in the Kenwood neighborhood on the city’s South Side that has left one resident dead and multiple others injured. Crews were called to the building, located at 4850 S Lake Park Ave, at approximately 10:00 am on Wednesday morning, after reports of smoke and flames were seen coming from the 15th floor. Upon arrival, firefighters found the fire was starting to spread to the 16th floor, with thick smoke and intense heat making it difficult to contain the blaze. Despite the challenges, crews were able to evacuate the building, and several residents were transported to local hospitals for treatment of smoke inhalation and other injuries. At least 10 ambulances responded to the scene. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, but officials say it appears to have started in one of the 15th floor units. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, but it is clear that most of the units will be uninhabitable for some time.The power for the elevators was lost, forcing firefighters to use the stairwells to evacuate the building, including elderly residents who may have had difficulty getting out on their own. Despite the challenges, crews were able to evacuate the building, and several residents were transported to local hospitals for treatment of smoke inhalation and other injuries. The Red Cross is currently assisting displaced residents with temporary housing and other needs.
thanks Keith
Excerpts from abc7chicago.com:
A fire broke out in the 15th floor of the 25-story Harper Square Co-Op building in the 4800-block of South Lake Park Avenue just after 10 a.m. Wednesday. Wind caused the fire to spread very quickly, going vertically from floor to floor all the way up to the 24th floor.
It took hundreds of firefighters to knock out the flames, and the elevators were out, so all of the equipment had to be lifted up manually.
One woman found dead on the 15th floor. Eight other residents were injured. A firefighter was also injured. Nearly half of the units in the building are now considered uninhabitable.
The Chicago Fire Department said smoking materials ignited combustibles in a bedroom and ruled the fire an accident. A smoke detector was in the residence but was not working, CFD said.
The identity of the woman killed has not yet been released, but those who knew her said she was a retired teacher in her 80s.
Apparently the building has failed its seven last inspections by the Department of Buildings (DOB), including one on Dec. 1, 2022, for not testing the fire alarm and evacuation system.
After being in violation for more than a year, 4850 South Lake Park Thursday submitted certification by outside contractor Fox Valley Fire & Safety. Paper work obtained shows fire alarms passed inspection. But the records submitted Thursday were for testing done at the end of 2021, more than a year ago. So at the time of the fire, the high rise was still not in fire compliance,
DOB also said during an inspection on Nov. 7, 2022, violations for the interior door tags, exterior masonry and for failing to file the required high-rise exterior wall report were noted. The DOB also referred the violations to the Department of Law, which filed an enforcement action in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The court case is scheduled to be hears on Feb. 2.
The apartment building, which was built in 1970, has 298 apartments in it, with about 267 units occupied, and individual units in this building do not have sprinklers.
After the deadly 2003 fire at the Cook County Administration Building, the city passed an ordinance requiring all residential high rises to pass what’s called a “life safety evaluation.” The ordinance does not require sprinklers as long as buildings put in passive measures, such as self-closing doors to contain a fire.
This from Larry Shapiro:
Schaumburg firefighters were sent to an unknown address on Lunt Avenue, just blocks from Station 53, early Friday evening for a building fire. They reported a header almost immediately and the Code 3 was upgraded to a Code 4. They went defensive within minutes as there was a partial wall collapse on the east side of the building at 1037 Lune Avenue that had been divided into storage lockers. Both Schaumburg aerials deployed master streams in addition to several hand lines and ground monitors that were in use.
Excerpts from abc7chicago.com:
It took about two-and-a-half hours to get the fire under control Thursday after it broke out at around 6:30 p.m. in a building in an industrial area on Lunt Avenue.
Part of the problem for firefighters was the walls in the structure collapsed, very quickly limiting their abilities. Another issue was the building layout. It was divided into storage units with no word on what was inside that could have started this fire.
No one was injured. The person inside that called 911 managed to get out safely.
more video of the 2-Alarm fire in Des Plaines, 1-5-23
From Steve Redick:
Was not allowed to get close. All I could get. They put the master streams to work very quickly
brief cellphone video from the Box Alarm fire near Des Plaines, 12-2-22
For the finest department portraits and composites contact Tim Olk or Larry Shapiro.
