Building destroyed by fire in North Lawndale
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A building in the 4000-block of West Ogden Avenue in the North Lawndale neighborhood was destroyed by fire early Tuesday.
The three-alarm fire broke out around 5:40 a.m. Tuesday. A number of emergency crews responded to the call, blocking off the intersection of West Ogden Avenue and South Pulaski Road for hours.
"I woke up this morning, was distracted by all the cameras, the lights, the fire department, People's Gas. So I knew there had to be some type of tragedy," said Robell McNeil, a USPS Mail Carrier.
Large flames and heavy smoke poured out of the roof as about 150 firefighters worked defensively to contain the blaze to the two-story building, which had a recording studio on the ground floor and a banquet hall on the second floor.
"As they began their ventilation process, the fire started rapidly progressing on us. We immediately ordered all the crews out of the building, they escalated the alarm," Deputy Fire Commissioner John McNicholas said.
Smoke filtered as far east as Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on the North Side, several hours after crews first arrived at the scene.
The fire was struck out by 8 a.m. Tuesday. Debris and floodwater kept some surrounding businesses from opening. The firefighters who remained on the scene poured water on hot spots and kept watch in case of a building collapse.
"If that building were to fall, typically speaking, we can estimate how far it's going to come out onto the street. So we put our crews beyond that area," McNicholas said.
The fire left the building in dangerous condition and was ordered demolished. A few blocks of Ogden remain closed while crews bring down the building, meaning Valdez Food Products across the street cannot make their scheduled deliveries.
"The streets are closed. We can't take our trucks out. We can't do anything," said Isabelle Gomez, Valdez Food Products.
One firefighter suffered a minor back injury and was taken to the hospital. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
