Fire tears through bar, apartment building in Avondale; man says he barely escaped
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A massive fire ripped through an apartment and a longtime neighborhood bar in the Northwest Side's Avondale neighborhood Friday evening.
CBS 2's Charlie De Mar spoke with a man who escaped the fire with just seconds to spare.
Raging flames busted through the upper-level apartments above the Bristol Lounge, 3084-86 N. Milwaukee Ave., early Friday evening.
"Thirty to 45 more seconds, I'd have died of smoke inhalation out there, because it filled up that fast - that fast," said Mike Perry. "You blink and your home's gone."
Perry not only lived in the apartments on Milwaukee Avenue southeast of the intersection with Belmont Avenue – he has also worked at Bristol Lounge for decades.
"I would describe it as a neighborhood fixture and a dinosaur type of a business," he said. "Before I could get out the double door, the entire second floor was completely engulfed in smoke."
The damage to both the apartments and the bar is extensive – and while the Chicago Fire Department worked to find a cause Friday night, Perry was left to find a new home.
"I have nowhere to go," Perry said. "Every single person related to me is dead."
Nobody was injured in the fire. But others who escaped the fire were forced into the cold with nothing more than some sandals and what they were wearing.
"I lost my clothing," another man said. "The only clothes I have is what I'm wearing."
"Hope springs eternal," added Perry. "I'm going to hope the upstairs could be made rehabitable."