Video and Fireground Audio of 3-11 Alarm Fire in Chicago, Illinois at Lumber Yard. 25 Years and One Day After it Burned Down The First Time
Great video and fireground audio of a 2-11 Alarm Lumber Yard Fire in Chicago early this morning. The video was posted by SRResquire and description is below.
“Harry’s Lumber. 2 separate alarms an hour apart.MVU used at first fire… 2 Tower ladders, snorkel and several mutiversals in operation at the 2nd fire”
Chicago Tribune – “For the second time in 25 years, the owners of Harry’s Lumber are vowing to rebuild after a fire destroyed their warehouse in Norwood Park.
“We’ll be back bigger than ever,” Ira Rosenthal said at the scene of the extra-alarm fire at 6220 N. Northwest Highway Tuesday morning.
His words echoed those of his father, Jerry Rosenthal, after a fire leveled the business 25 years and one day ago on Oct. 19, 1990.
Tuesday’s fire was reported just after 4 a.m. a few blocks from Devon and Harlem avenues on the Northwest Side, officials said.
Ira Rosenthal said he received a call at 2:30 a.m. that the motion detector in the warehouse went off, but thought that it was an animal or bird that had gotten in. Then he received a call from one of his employees telling him that his business was burning.
“I can’t believe it’s happening to me again,” Rosenthal said. “But we’ve been in business for 75 years and we’re definitely going to reopen. You have to think positive.”
The fire was quickly raised to a 2-11 alarm, sending 50 pieces of equipment and about 130 firefighters and paramedics. It was mostly out by about 5:50 a.m. and some units left, but the fire rekindled and it was raised to a 3-11 alarm around 7:30 a.m., with flames shooting through the roof and buckling the walls.”
“After the fire was initially struck out, firefighters noticed a few hot spots but did not think it would be a major concern, said Larry Langford, spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department. Then suddenly the fire flared up again.
“It’s not something that normally happens in a fire, but how many times do we have fire in a lumberyard?” Langford said. “It’s just filled to the gills with stuff that burns. It’s potpourri of fire material in that building and it just hit the right spot and took off.”
Langford said battling the blaze was hindered by the roof caving in. But unlike most situations when the roof disintegrates in the fire, the metal roof stayed intact with a split down the middle, hampering attempts to get water into the building from above and forcing firefighters to attack the sides of the building.
“It’s like trying to get water under an umbrella,” Langford said. “It was shielding (the fire) on top, so we had to use other methods which were not as efficient. You’re not hitting it directly like you want to and you’re handicapped. You do the best you can and eventually you win.”
When the fire broke out, crews asked Metra to halt trains on the Union Pacific Northwest line, which runs parallel to Northwest Highway, as they set up on both sides of the track.
Rosenthal said he’s glad no one was hurt and that he’s received an outpouring of support from customers.
“As long as nobody got hurt, that’s the main thing,” Rosenthal said. “You can replace buildings but you can’t replace people. Everybody is fine. We’re upset, which is normal, but I can’t wait to get back in business again.”
Rosenthal said he plans to tear down the building and rebuild. Last time, it took more than a year.
“We’re going to make it quicker this time,” Rosenthal said. The cause of the fire was under investigation, officials said.”…Continue Reading Here
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