Chicago firefighters spent Monday afternoon battling a blaze in the 4700 block of West Lake Street on the city’s West Side, with one person suffering an injury.
There were a larger than normal amount of firefighters on scene for the fire, with a spokesperson for CFD telling NBC 5 that the department had issues getting enough water onto the blaze in its early stages.
The call came into the department just after 2 p.m. Monday, according to authorities. The fire broke out inside a multi-use building, with several businesses inside.
Three individuals who were inside the building were able to escape without injury. One of the men did suffer a dog bite as he helped bring an animal to safety, but no injuries were directly caused by the blaze.
“Fire tends to make animals behave a little erratic and the dog might have been afraid or scared. It might have turned and bit the guy that was trying to bring him out,” explained CFD Chief Mark Ferman.
The building fire occurred near the CTA Green Line stop at Cicero, according to authorities. Trains continued to run in both directions as fire crews remained on scene.
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“We assessed that the wind was favorable,” Ferman said. “It was blowing away form The El tracks. There was no fire impingement or danger. If there been any danger, if the wind directions had been blowing the other direction we probably would have thought about (shutting down service).”
Services also continued on the UP-W Metra line, which runs just to the north of the building.
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Within hours, the Chicago Fire Department had the blaze under control. Part of the domed-roof did collapse, but no one was inside when that occurred.
There is no immediate word on the cause of the fire.
“That’s going to be a process that may take a while,” Ferman said.
The Chicago Fire Department Office of Fire Investigation remains on scene and is looking into the cause of the fire.
