Fire Quickly Put Out At Historic Water Tower
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Firefighters quickly put out a small fire at the historic Water Tower Tuesday morning – so fast, in fact, that the tower remained open to visitors the whole time.
Some insulation around a motor in the Water Tower caught fire around 10 a.m., according to Fire Media Affairs. The Water Tower is located on Michigan Avenue just north of Chicago Avenue.
Firefighters used a hand pump to quickly put the small fire out.
No one was injured and there was no lingering smoke inside the Water Tower, according to a Fire Media spokesman.
The Water Tower was completed in 1869. Its castle-like architecture covers a 138-foot standpipe that began as part of the city's water pumping system.
Famously, the Water Tower and the Chicago Avenue pumping station across the street were the only structures that were located within the area burned by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, but ended up surviving the fire.
The Water Tower now operates as a city visitors' center.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
