Fire Alarm At Radar Facility Delays Flights At O'Hare, Midway
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Several flights at O'Hare and Midway airports were delayed Monday morning, after a fire alarm prompted the evacuation of an FAA radar facility in Elgin.
FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said, shortly after 8 a.m., a fire alarm went off in the Terminal Radar Approach Control facility in Elgin, forcing the facility to be evacuated until about 8:30 a.m.
Firefighters responded and shut down the alarm. There was no fire or structural damage. The alarm went off after detecting water flowing into pipes for the sprinkler system.
While the TRACON in Elgin was evacuated, another FAA facility in Aurora handled air traffic control for O'Hare and Midway, according to Isham Cory.
As a result of the fire alarm, 23 arrivals and 56 departures at O'Hare and Midway were delayed, Isham Cory said. Only one delay lasted longer than 30 minutes. Seven flights headed to O'Hare and one headed to Midway were diverted to other airports, possibly for fuel.
As of 10 a.m., traffic at both airports was back to normal.
