Media Scrambles Air Force to Report Warehouse Fire

By Matt Wood in News on Oct 23, 2006 1:20PM

A three-alarm fire destroyed a warehouse at 1514 W. Lake St. in the West Loop this morning, disrupting Green Line service in the process. The flames came within 15 feet of the Green Line elevated tracks, causing no damage, but service was halted on a three-mile stretch near the area. A fire department spokesperson called the Reliable Plating Company building a total loss, but no one was injured. The CTA has started a bus shuttle between the California and Clark and Lake stations on the Green Line until full service is restored.

The fire started at about 3:45 a.m., and the 150 firefighters on the scene had it under control by a little after 5:00. That didn't stop three television news helicopters from hovering over Chicagoist's neighborhood for two and a half more hours, waking up Chicagoist Junior in the process. Fuckers. Do you guys all need your own helicopter? Can't you split one and share the video footage? And how many aerial shots of a burned out warehouse do you really need? Sorry, we feel bad for the warehouse owners and hope all you Green Line commuters made it to work on time, but we're just cranky after feeling like we live on the deck of an aircraft carrier this morning.