Basement fire damages clothing store in West Rogers Park
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An overnight fire caused upwards half a million dollars in damages to a family business in West Rogers Park.
The fire started in the basement of MJ Outlet, an apparel store at Devon and Western Avenues, which sells high-end designer clothes from India and Pakistan.
Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the store overnight, as families who live in the apartments above watched from outside.
The store's owner told CBS 2 he was asleep at home in Skokie around midnight when he first got the call that something was wrong.
He said this business has been his entire life for four years, so watching the business go up in flames was difficult to process.
"What can I do? Everybody sad right now. So this is very big loss, and I think it's going to be three months or four months to get repair and everything. And, plus, we have four employees. They have to find another job for three to four months," Salman Mohammed said.
Wednesday morning, Mohammed was waiting to get clearance to board up the windows. He said the fire caused upwards of $500,000 in damages to the store.
The Chicago Fire Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the fire, but Mohammed said they told him there were no injuries, and the fire did not damage the apartments, so the families living there were able to return home after the fire.