A three-story apartment building in West Chicago was severely damaged during an overnight fire that required the equivalent of six alarms. The fire which may have started as a result of a grill on a third floor balcony, damaged half of the 48-unit building. The Chicago Tribune has an article which states that:
The fire in the three-story, 48-unit Aspen Ridge Apartments at 515 Carriage Drive broke out around 2:20 a.m., said West Chicago Deputy Chief Robert Hodge. Half of those units were affected, he said. There were no injuries.
Firefighters originally were called to the scene with reports of residents trapped on third-floor balconies. Five residents were rescued from second-floor balconies, Hodge said.
Firefighters quickly abandoned any attempt to save the building and fought the blaze to keep it from spreading, Lt. Lee Westrom said earlier. The level of the blaze kept increasing throughout the early morning hours, with a special alarm added about 4:20 a.m. to the five alarms previously called.
A mayday for possibly downed firefighters was sounded but all firefighters were soon accounted for, he added. According to fire radio communications, the firefighters escaped through the rear of the building. The decision not to send more firefighters into the building and to fight the blaze defensively was made after that.
The complete article can be found HERE. Additional articles are HERE, HERE, and HERE.
