Fire Destroys Abandoned Bridgeport Warehouse

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 23, 2013 3:30PM

A fire that required 200 firefighters to put out destroyed an abandoned warehouse in Bridgeport Tuesday night. The 5-11 alarm fire at the Harris Marcus Group building, 3757 S. Ashland, was spotted by a fire chief shortly after 9 p.m. and quickly engulfed the building. Firefighters had the blaze under control by 12:30 a.m. The fire jumped to another building at 3800 S. Ashland, but firefighters put out that blaze. Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said if the fire had spread a call would have been sent for suburban firefighters to assist with putting it out.

Langford said there hasn’t been a fire this large in Chicago since a December 2004 fire at the 100 block of South LaSalle Street. Fire Cmdr. Jose Santiago said the building materials resulted in its quick spreading.

"Everything is wood inside these buildings, beautiful façades on the outside. They've been up for a long time. When they start burning like this, they start coming down," Santiago said.

The Harris Marcus Group building is located in the heart of the historic Central Manufacturing District, the first planned industrial district in America. The fire produced so much smoke that it could be seen from Midway Airport. The cold weather conditions made containing the blaze a greater chore, as hose water froze and resulted in slippery conditions.

Image via National Weather Service

Here's video of the fire via ABC 7.