Firefighters Swarm High-Rise Fire, No Injuries
(CBS) -- No one was injured Thursday afternoon when a residence in a Lincoln Park high-rise went up in flames.
The fire started about 3:40 p.m., said Fire Media Affairs Chief Kevin MacGregor. A second alarm and EMS Plan I were called after firefighters found a blaze on the 24th floor of the 42-story building at 2626 N. Lakeview.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller Reports
Podcast
The fire was contained to one apartment and no one was home in that unit at the time it began, a fire official said. No injuries were reported and initial reports of people trapped on the 15th floor proved unfounded.
"The fire was contained to one room, and the door to that room was shut, which prevented the fire from spreading," said a firefighter who asked not to be named.
"When we opened the door the whole room was in flames and flames were out the window," said the firefighter. "It took us about 15 minutes to knock it down.
"I couldn't tell you if it was a bedroom or a living room, everything inside was charred."
The fire was extinguished about 4:40 p.m., the fire department said.
"It's scary," said 86-year old Selma Florio, who lives on the 25th floor. "Someone was killed in a fire in an apartment near the 20th floor about 10 years ago.
Witness Rachel Rosencranz said the fire caused the burning unit's windows to shatter and fall down the building.
"It got a little crazy," she tells CBS 2.
Residents in the undamaged units were allowed back into the building.
Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire (Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
