On Sunday, January 28, a fire set ablaze at a shared commercial building in the Chicago suburb of Evanston. It took firefighters through the night to successfully put the flames out.
The fire had left the building gutted and even caused officials to close certain streets Monday morning. The Evanston Fire Department was still working hard in the early morning to take out any hotspots that could re-light.
Late Night Evanston Fire
Evanston officials made a statement announcing that the fire had started around 8:30 p.m. on the 28th at the address 1402 Greenleaf Street. It’s reported that smoke was seen above the roof of the building.
However, when the firefighters arrived, they realized that the blaze was more serious than previously thought.
Due to this they then upgraded the situation to a third-alarm fire. A third-alarm fire is considered a drastic fire that is only two alarms lower than the highest level that most Fire Departments subscribe to. The press release still admires the firefighter’s tenacity against the flames.
It stated, “Despite a well-coordinated, aggressive interior attack, fire operations quickly turned defensive as fire ravaged the structure, and conditions began to deteriorate rapidly.”
To combat the fire three master streams, or high-volume water systems were used to extinguish the large fires. Also, seven fire lines, a method used to break up flames’ path of spreading for containment of fires.
Although the flames were persistent the firefighters were able to extinguish the majority of the flames by 1 a.m. and were able to put out the rest of the hotspots by 5 a.m.
The press release also stated there was a pottery studio in the commercial building. Luckily, no one was in the building and harmed but the tenants of the studio were displaced.
The cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation.
Another Evanston Fire
Sadly, the pottery studio wasn’t Evanston’s only recent blaze. Monday, January the 22. This fire had started in the basement of a residential home a little after 10 a.m. The family was able to safely flee from their home without injury.
However, they were only able to rescue the family dog and one of their cats, the other sadly perished in the fire. A total of 50 Evanston firefighters had responded to the call.
They were able to get most of the fire under control in around 15 minutes, but certain small spot fires were out of reach due to fire damage to the floors. This caused the firefighters to have to leave the house for safety purposes.
Evanston Fire Operations Chief William Muno made a statement about the job. He said, “It became very unsafe, so we brought everybody out so we could knock the fire down successfully from the outside.”
Nevertheless, two firefighters had gotten trapped in the house for a short period. This happened due to one of the duo falling through the floor to the basement which had shortly prevented them from escaping. However, they are both recovering from their mild injuries.
The family who is now homeless is going to receive help from the American Red Cross for the time being. The cause is still being investigated.
Recent Chicago Fires
The Winter season sees a lot of house and building fires, Chicago is no stranger to this. Every winter season many people face fires due to multiple reasons. Whether it’s faulty wiring, water damage, or leaving sockets, holiday decorations, and indoor heaters unattended.
Another recent inferno took place in the South Side neighborhood of Chatham. On Saturday, January 27, an apartment building on the southside went up in flames.
Residents of the building had to quickly flee as multiple units on the second and third floors quickly filled up with flames and black, thick smoke. There were no casualties or injuries reported.
Additionally, their speedy exits meant that many were not able to grab shoes, coats, or important documents. Nonetheless, neighbors had come out and lent coats, blankets, and other necessities they could to the victims.
Furthermore, Family Services and the Red Cross plan to assist the 11 adults and 11 children whose homes were destroyed.
Written By AriAnna Rathers
Sources:
NBC News- Massive fire leaves Evanston pottery studio ‘ravaged’; street closures in place
ABC News- Several families displaced by fast-moving apartment fire in Chatham: ‘My world just crumbled’
CBS News- 2 firefighters injured, cat dead in house fire in Chicago suburb
Featured Image Courtesy of Joey Coleman’s Flickr Page– Creative Commons License
Inset Image by Jen Wilbanks, MSFA Courtesy of Fort George G. Meade Public Affairs Office’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
