12 cars burned in fire at downtown parking garage

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Saturday, June 10, 2017
12 cars burned in Loop parking garage fire
A SUV caught fire in a parking garage at Adams and Wabash in Chicago's Loop, burning 11 other cars.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A dozen cars were burned Saturday afternoon in a parking garage fire in the city's Loop, sending thick black smoke billowing from the 7th floor of the structure.

At about 12:40 p.m., firefighters responded to a fire at a parking garage at 17 East Adams Street, CFD said. Shortly after 1:30 p.m., the fire was extinguished.

Six cars were completely burned and six others were damaged. Five people were evacuated from the building, but no one was injured, fire officials said.

The fire was started in a 2012 Nissan Armada that belonged to Brian Foster, who is from the Chicago area. He had parked his SUV in the self-park garage to go to his job as a store manager.

Foster had noticed a strange vibration while he was driving and decided to check under the hood. That's when he saw that the car was on fire.

"The fire blazed from the hood and it blew me away," Foster said.

A bit stunned and shaken, Foster took the elevator down to the garage office for help. Workers there called 9-1-1.

Foster said he was grateful that he only lost his cellphone and a few cherished pictures of his son.

"I'm glad I'm alive. The main thing is that I'm alive," Foster said.

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