Excerpts from cbsnewschicago.com:
Firefighters spent nearly three hours battling a 3-11 alarm fire Thursday morning at a warehouse in the Back of the Yards neighborhood at the Evans Food Group processing plant near 41st and Halsted.
Flames spread from the warehouse where it started to at least two connected buildings, and the roofs of all three buildings collapsed during the fire.
A worker at the plant said it is essentially a large kitchen that packs and ships food all over the country. McDonough said the warehouse stores pork products and grease that both helped fuel the blaze.
It was unclear how many employees were inside when the fire started but everyone got out safely prior to firefighters arriving.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Arlington Heights Fire Department recently presented its first-ever Bill Dressel Workhorse Award to Firefighter TJ Liebetrau, who ran the most calls in 2022. This new award was named after Bill Dressell, who served as an Arlington Heights Firefighter for 41 years before retiring in 2010. He attended the first paramedic class at Northwest Community Hospital in 1972, and this annual award will recognize his many years of service to our community. Recently, Bill stopped by the fire station to present the first Bill Dressell Workhorse Award to Firefighter Liebetrau, who responded to 783 calls in 2022. We look forward to continuing this new tradition in the Arlington Heights Fire Department and carrying on Bill’s legacy for generations to come. Congratulations to Firefighter Liebetrau for this impressive accomplishment!
