An extra-alarm fire tore through two vacant buildings and and damaged two other buildings in the Lawndale neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, displacing 13 people and a 25-year-old business, but injuring no one, authorities said.
The fire was reported after 3 p.m. at vacant buildings in the 3100 block of West Fillmore Street and spread to two other structures, one of them housing Fast Eddie & Son Towing. Fire officials originally had said the fire started in the towing company’s building, but were incorrect.
Workers at the company were able to get a tow truck out before the fire engulfed the building, according to a fire spokesman.
Eddie Manning on Wednesday stood across the street from his Lawndale business of 25 years as he watched flames shoot out from the top of the building.
“It’s back on fire,” Manning said. “Oh, man.”
Manning started pacing before crossing the crime scene tape to speak to firefighters. By then, firefighters had been battling the fire for more than an hour.
Firefighters were first called to the scene at 2:47 p.m. and arrived in four minutes. Chicago Fire Department District Chief Brian Helmold said flames were shooting from the roofs of two vacant commercial buildings, which were sandwiched between Manning’s business and a two-story home.
Inside one of the vacant buildings, there were four to five vehicles.
“That’s what really fueled the fire,” Helmold said.
About 80 firefighters used 20 pieces of equipment for more than two hours Wednesday to fight the blaze that eventually hit four buildings. No injuriesn were reported.
People inside Manning’s business and the residential building were able to get out on their own, Helmold said. The fire temporarily displaced nine adults and four children who lived inside the two-story residential building.
About 5 p.m., smoke continued to smolder inside one of the vacant buildings. Firefighters used flashlights to look through Manning’s business.
The two vacant buildings were considered a total loss, Helmold said. The two other buildings will need repair before they are habitable again.
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Manning and his son were eating lunch inside Fast Eddie’s when he got a call about the fire. He smelled smoke and saw flames coming from the rear of one of the vacant buildings.
Later, he and his wife, Veronica Manning, grew frustrated as they watched heavy smoke and then flames coming from the buildings.
“I could have saved the building,” Eddie Manning said. “They rather see it burn.”
Chicago officers at one point were called to speak to the couple.
Helmold said he made tactical decisions on the scene based on whether anyone’s life was in danger. He said there were so many firefighters on the scene to relieve each other because of high temperatures.
A room inside Manning’s building was damaged by the fire, Helmold said. The two vacant buildings are expected to be demolished this week.
“They did a fabulous job of saving (Manning’s) building,” Helmold said. “Structurally, this building is sound.”
The cause and origin of the fire were under investigation.