The blaze broke out just before the Tuesday afternoon rush hour at Roy's Furniture store in the 2400-block of North Sheffield on the city's North Side.
"The delivery guys were, like, 'oh, my God, there's a little fire. Let's go get water.' It was literally very small. We ran to the bathroom, got water. By the time I went there, half of the store was on fire. It was literally a matter of about 30 seconds," said Johanna Parra, marketing director, Roy's Furniture.
Parra's car, which was in the store's parking lot, exploded at some point.
No injuries have been reported, but the CTA's Red, Purple, and Brown line trains run on tracks near the area. Heavy smoke and fire department activity led the CTA to suspend train service.
- Train service is suspended on the
- Red Line between the Belmont and North and Clybourn stations;
- Brown Line between Belmont and Sedgwick;
- and Purple Line Express -- all service.
The CTA is using buses to move passengers between those stations.
The suspensions left many commuters stranded.
"Initially, I was trying to go somewhere, but then I heard about the fire. Now, I am standing here waiting for a bus," said commuter Amy Berner.
For the latest information on train service, visit CTA's website.
