Auto Shop Collapses In Englewood Blaze
Updated 02/09/16 - 11:36 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An Englewood auto repair shop was destroyed Tuesday morning, when it was engulfed by an extra-alarm fire.
The fire started around 8:20 a.m. at Aero Auto Repair, 221 W. 65th St. The Fire Department said the response was soon upgraded to a 2-11 alarm, sending about 140 firefighters and 38 various trucks and engines to the scene. Crews also called for a Level 1 hazardous materials response as a precaution, due to the flammable materials inside.
According to the Fire Department, the blaze started when a worker using a cutting torch got too close to a pool of spilled gasoline.
"From my understanding, there was one person that was working. He grabbed a fire extinguisher. The fire started escalating very quickly. He exited. The owner was pulling up on the scene, and there was a tremendous amount of fire that he saw. He felt it was way too dangerous, made sure everybody was out, called 911, and here we are," Deputy Fire Commissioner John McNicholas said.
Rinaldo Malcolme was walking near the garage when he smelled smoke.
"I looked up, and I saw the smoke coming out of this building, and as [I was] walking towards it, then I saw the big explosion. I took my phone out and took pictures of it, and I saw the big explosion coming out the building. I thought it was a bomb, or something," he said. "The workers ran out the place, and it was just amazing, you know?"
Officials said most of the roof and part of the walls collapsed in the blaze.
Thick smoke from the fire slowed traffic on the nearby Dan Ryan Expressway. Water from the firefighting effort was curb-high in the street.
One firefighter suffered a minor injury. The Fire Department said the 2-11 alarm and hazardous materials response were struck out at 10:45 a.m.
