Bright orange flames ripped through the roof of the Newly Weds Food factory Tuesday on Chicago’s Northwest Side as firefighters attempted to douse the blaze.
The fire was burning in the 4100 block of West Wrightwood Avenue in the city’s Belmont Gardens neighborhood shortly before 5 p.m. Firefighters could be seen on the roof trying to extinguish the flames as engines on the street arched ladders to the top of the building. A sign outside the building reads "Newly Weds Foods." The roof of a neighboring building caved it about 9 p.m.
The Chicago Fire Department said in a tweet the fire was not considered a hazardous materials situation.
Fire officials said all companies were working the fire and no injuries were reported.
According to its website, Newly Wed Foods is a "purveyor of customized breaders, batters, seasonings, and functional ingredients."
Brian Guyton works for Newly Weds Foods.
"When I stepped outside that's when I saw all the flames here," he said. "I had just come back from break, ten minutes later my supervisor was yelling 'fire!'"
Local
Neighbor Erin McCormick witnessed the blaze as well.
"My brother-in-law was on the last train that billowed right through it and said he could feel the heat through the train," McCormick said.
McCormick said she heard a loud boom and came outside to see flames leaping into the air.
"It just swallowed the building as they were putting the flames out," McCormick said.
Employees and neighbors tell NBC 5 they’ve made several foods at the factory since 1936--including bread crumbs.
"It started small with a large industrial toaster oven (and) grew from there," neighbor Danny Perez said.
One firefighter was taken to the hospital for a "very minor issue," a fire official said.
The fire was struck out shortly after 10 p.m.
