A reader alerted us to this story from the Tribune. They also sent in these photos showing the fire-ravaged area on Argyle.Check out CBS2's coverage of the fire here.
THE BLOTTER 8:14 AM CDT, August 6, 2008
Two restaurants were destroyed Wednesday morning by an extra-alarm fire in Uptown, fire officials said.
No injuries were reported in the fire, which broke out shortly before 1 a.m. in the 1100 block of West Argyle Street, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
The blaze started in a three-story building, which had a restaurant on the first floor, Chicago police said, citing preliminary information. WGN-Ch. 9 reported that the building houses six storefronts, four of which were destroyed. It said some residents in nearby apartments had to be evacuated because of thick smoke and the fast-moving flames.
The building is near a CTA Red Line stop, but CTA officials said there was no disruption to morning commuter service.
The fire was upgraded to a second alarm about 1:15 a.m. and was brought under control at 3 a.m.
About 120 firefighters responded to the scene.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
Jeremy Gorner, Tribune reporter
I didn't see the fire, but I did see the smoke.
ReplyDeleteComing home late from O'Hare (which may a redundant statement) at around 2am; Wilson and Sheridan were cloudy with smoke, and the scent of burning wood.
In fact, up and down Sheridan was covered in smoke.
In fact, from my roof you could see the smoke from the fire stretch all the way down Sheridan for at least a mile - probably more, but buildings got in the way.
I tried to take some pictures, from a distance, at night, with the camera on my phone ... which as most of you may know, just doesn't happen.
Eerie.
Still, best of luck and sympathies to anyone affected.
those pictures hardly do the damage justice. i walked by on my way to work at 6:30 and the streets still smelled like a camp fire. it looked like a bomb had gone off in that building.
ReplyDeleteWe just got back from lunch on Argyle and the devastation is not well translated in these pictures. The entire roof has collapsed in on this building and it will most definitely have to be demolished. There were still lots of onlookers on the sidewalk across the street who were staring at the remains of this building in disbelief. Its very sad.
ReplyDeleteI was there for the whole thing. There was about 10 fire trucks battling the blaze. There were a total of 4 businesses not 2 that were completely lost. At times the flames were 75 feet high. Its a shame, it was one of the better managed buildings on the street.
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