Firefighters spent hours battling a massive blaze in an extra-alarm fire at a furniture store in the popular Logan Square neighborhood Thursday morning.
The blaze broke out just before 8 a.m. in the 2900 block of North Milwaukee Avenue on the city's Northwest Side and was put out just before 11 a.m., according to fire officials.
"It's a stubborn fire," said Chief Timothy Sampy, who noted furniture was located in the basement, first floor and second floor of the building.
NBC Sky 5 footage showed flames and heavy, dark smoke pouring out of a Famsa furniture building into the sky and throughout the area.
Just after 8:30 a.m., fire officials elevated the blaze to a 3-11 alarm, reporting part of the building had collapsed. The building's storefront could be seen with severe damage as crews continued to fight the flames and Building Commissioner Judy Frydland said the buildimg is a "total loss."
"The only thing holding it up are the buildings on the side," Frydland said.
Fire officials said the store was not yet open for business and no one was inside at the time the flames broke out.
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No injuries were reported, though some people were seen by an ambulance at the scene for smoke inhalation. Those people were ultimately released, Sampy said.
Reports from the scene indicated the area surrounding the building was being evacuated as Milwaukee Avenue was blocked from Belmont to Diversey.
While it remains unclear what caused the blaze, the address fire officials initially listed as the start of the fire belongs to Los Dos Leones Restaurant and Bar, which sits next to the Famsa furniture store.
The owner of the restaurant said a maintenance person notified her of the fire.
"He said he smelled smoke and ran to the kitchen and saw the smoke coming from the building next to us," Raquel Ochoa said.
Fire officials said no neighboring buildings suffered structural damage.
