If you were like us this morning, you woke up to a blinking alarm clock and noise from a hovering helicopter buzzing overhead. Why? according to various media outlets a fire broke out early this morning at 1326 S. Michigan, which is a commercial building that once housed a showroom for potential high rises in the area:
The fire broke out in the 1300 block of South Michigan Avenue at about 2:30 a.m., was quickly raised to two alarms and then to a third alarm about two hours later. Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting through the roof and tried to keep the fire from being spread by winds gusting up to 30 mph.
The roof of the building eventually collapsed. At 4:30 a.m., blue flames still could
be seen at the rear of the structure and Peoples Gas Co. was called to the scene. The fire was brought under control around 6:30 a.m.
Around 8:30am it was still a chaotic scene as police and fire fighters were still working on the blaze. Michigan Avenue was closed down south of Roosevelt, making the other streets unusually busy.
Below is a picture submitted by a resident from 13th and Indiana:
(Hat Tip: SL!)
8 comments:
I live across the street in 1400 Museum Park. I took some brief footage at around 4-5am, but i had to go back inside because the smoke was too intense. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aOO3H8FVTs
Here is later in the morning after sunset:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li08F07SA4Y
The fire was crazy, for sure. However, what is even more crazy is the around the clock police guarding the site, and the beginning of demolition at the building on Tuesday evening. I mean, is it me, or do those two things seem strange? Maybe I just don't know what the SOP is for burnt out buidlings in Chicago...but this seems really fishy to me.
"and the beginning of demolition at the building on Tuesday evening."
Don't see what's fishy. If you leave a severely damaged building like that it'll just potentially collapse and kill someone. They're doing the right thing by getting rid of it immediately.
I'm fairly certain they were trying to proactively bring down some of the vulnerable areas of the building immediately so they didn't potentially damage nearby power lines and passing cars in the alley behind.
I think the "fishy" comment was referring to the fact that there was no way that the insurance adjusters had been to the building yet nor had inspectors....
It looks like the fire rekindled somehow (or something else happened to bring the FD out) last night...
http://southloopconnection.blogspot.com/2010/09/south-loop-fire-rekindles.html
This building has always looked vacant and sad. I've often wondered about it. I personally think the fire was intentionally lit. Warnings of heavy winds were all over the news the day before. It'd be a perfect night to set it on fire.
I was walking by last night (3 days after the fire around 9pm) and from what I could see there was a team of police and fire investigating inside. Looking around with flashlights moving between the building and their cars.
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