Early video: Chicago firefighters pull up to heavy fire conditions in Lincoln Park.
Pictures from Tim Olk at ChicagoAreaFire.com
The video above was taken as the first lines were stretched for a fire at 525 W. Armitage Avenue in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on Friday afternoon. Watch the pretty violent flash at :21 into the video (still frame below).
The building was built in 1888 and at one time it housed a funeral home. It was under renovation when the fire occurred.
This eventually became a 2-11 alarm and much of the building collpased. See the WLS-TV video below for the collapse. In addition there are two other clips from YouTube.
Chicago firefighters responded yesterday to a fire at 525 W. Armitage, less than a block from the quarters of Engine 22. Upon arrival, they found heavy fire on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a three-flat that was undergoing renovation. The alarm was escalated to a 2-11 for additional companies. During the course of the fire, the building suffered a catastrophic collapse.
A still-and-box alarm was initially called for the fire at 12:50 p.m, but it was later upgraded to a 2-11 alarm, according to the Fire Department. Firefighters used four master hose lines and four hand lines to fight the blaze.
By 1:55 p.m., the building had collapsed.
