Ice from Fire Hoses Threatens to Collapse Building
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(CHICAGO) — Thick sheets of ice have formed on a Chicago warehouse after firefighters put out a huge blaze during this frigid cold spell and the weight of the ice is threatening to collapse the building.
An abandoned warehouse at the intersection of 37th and Ashland in the Bridgeport neighborhood burst into flames on Tuesday night. Firefighters succeeded in putting out the blaze — one of the city’s biggest in decades — but it reignited a little over a day later.
Firefighters again extinguished the flames, but all the water poured onto the building meant more ice on the structure, due to the frigid temperatures that have hit the city in recent days. All the ice has put more weight on the five-story warehouse.
When the fire first broke out on Tuesday, around 50 fire companies and 170 firefighters reportedly headed to the scene, about a third of the city’s fire department.
The cause of the fire is now under investigation. No injuries have been reported to date.
Chicago has been hit by the bitterly cold weather sweeping the Midwest in the past few days. The temperature has been below freezing since Tuesday, with wind chills as low as 16 below zero.
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