A large fire in Harvey that destroyed a two-story apartment building remained under investigation Friday, the Harvey Fire Department said in a statement.
The building, just north of 147th Street and Halsted Street, has been the site of numerous fires, according to John Keller, who photographed the blaze.
The building suffered a full collapse about 45 minutes into the Wednesday night blaze, Keller said.
The Fire Department said the building was unoccupied and there were no civilian injuries. Some firefighters suffered minor injuries, the Fire Department said.
Multiple fire departments from neighboring municipalities, including Dolton, Posen and Thornton, assisted with the fire, according to Keller.
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It was one of at least two unoccupied buildings to catch fire in Harvey this week. A vacant house on Myrtle Avenue caught fire Tuesday, the city said. There were no injuries.
Harvey has struggled for years to deal with hundreds of abandoned properties, which are both a visual blight and potentially dangerous, especially if they catch fire or collapse. Part of the issue has to do with Harvey’s high property tax rate, which correlates to a low collection rate and means that many properties are tax-delinquent.
The Harvey Fire Department also faced short staffing challenges in the last year after over 40% of city employees, including firefighters and police, were furloughed due to Harvey’s state of financial distress, causing the city to rely more heavily on mutual aid from surrounding suburbs.