Chicago firefighters responded to a fire at Andy’s Deli at 5442 N. Milwaukee Avenue Wednesday evening. First arriving companies found fire in the commercial occupancy and initially had trouble securing a water supply due to several frozen hydrants in the area. The fire attack went defensive partially due to concerns about the integrity of the roof and a 2-11 Alarm was requested. Two tower ladders and Squad 2’s Snorkel applied water from their buckets and Truck 55 had their main in the air with a master stream in place. A special call was made for the Mobile Ventilation Unit (9-2-3) from Engine 106’s quarters and it was put to work in Sector 1 to push the fire to the rear and through the roof to allow companies to get at it since much of the roof had remained intact.
Steve Redick took in the fire as did Larry Shapiro. A gallery of images by Larry Shapiro can be seen HERE.
A gallery link to images by Steve Redick is HERE.
Here are a few images from the scene.
The Chicago Tribune has a brief article HERE.
A view of Sector 1 shows smoke but no visible fire. Since much of the roof remained intact, space was cleared out to allow access for the Mobile Ventilation Unit. Larry Shapiro photo
Since the fire was in the center of the building and the roof was largely intact, the MVU 9-2-3 was setup in front of the building to fan the fire so that firefighters could attack it without entering the premises. Larry Shapiro photo
A view from the alley shows heavy smoke pushing out of the rear because of the MVU on the street in front. Larry Shapiro photo
Engine 119 had a hydrant at one end of the alley where it meets Menard. Sewers were blocked and a large amount of water built up in the alley and down Menard. Larry Shapiro photo
Engine 83 brought Light Wagon 9-1-3 to the scene, as one is due at each 2-11 alarm fire in the city. Towards the end of the event, it was brought to Sector 1 and put to work offering firefighters greater visibility to direct handlines deep into the building from the sidewalk. Larry Shapiro photo
As companies began to break down their lines, most encountered hose with water that had frozen. They had to wrestle with the rigid hose to get it onto the engines and in some cases along the aerial bed of ladders for the trip back to quarters. There, companies repacked with new hose and dealt with the frozen hose in whatever manner they could. Larry Shapiro photo
Engine 108 has frozen hose propped over the top of the engine for the careful trip back to quarters. Larry Shapiro photo
