Fire Shuts Down Michigan Ave.
Friday, Dec 18, 2009 | Updated 12:18 PM CST
North Bridge shopping center is expected to reopen around noon today after a small fire in a first-floor shop brought a large number of firefighters to North Michigan Avenue, blocking the street during the morning commute.
Mall workers were mopping up and planning to put down new carpeting before the mall would open its doors, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The fire started at approximately 8:20 a.m. and was extinguished less than 20 minutes later.
Early reports indicated that sprinklers in the building put out the fire on the first floor of the shopping center, which is anchored by Nordstroms. A police officer told Chicago Breaking News center that the blaze broke out in a Sephora store on the first floor, but that information was not corroborated by fire officials.
No less than 10 fire vehicles, an ambulance and police officers responded to the Magnificent Mile fire, causing traffic stoppage at Ontario Street and Michigan Avenue to the North and Wacker to the South. Buses were rerouted to avoid the nearly hour-long delay.
Posted Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - 9:23 AM CST
