Avondale warehouse heavily damaged in extra-alarm fire
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago firefighters are watching for flare-ups at a warehouse that caught fire in the city's Avondale neighborhood.
Towering flames shot from the three-story building in the 3000-block of North Rockwell Street Monday night.
Around 110 firefighters responded to the scene. Fire Commissioner Jose Santiago said due to the building's instability, firefighters were called out of the warehouse and battled the blaze from the outside.
The roof and at least one wall collapsed. No one was hurt.
The newly-renovated warehouse was heavily damaged. The building was supposed to be a state-of-the-art culinary complex and a place of revitalization.
Tuesday morning, the building's charred facade, a gaping hole in the roof and rubble on the sidewalk were a stark contrast to the alderman's description.
Dan Schmidt works in an adjacent building.
"I'm very grateful we didn't take any real damage," Schmidt said. "When we moved in a few years back, I was always concerned about the ancient buildings. I'm disappointed for any fire to happen."
Residents said they were looking forward to seeing the new culinary businesses set up shop.
Investigators are looking into how the fire started.
