Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
Chicago fire personnel evacuate an injured firefighter at a extra-alarm fire at 1700 East 75th Street. (E. Jason Wambsgans/ Chicago Tribune)
Two firefighters died after a wall collapsed during a 3-11 alarm fire at an abandoned South Side commercial building this morning, authorities said. Fourteen other firefighters were injured, including two who were trapped with the ones who died.
Police squad cars escorted two ambulances north on Lake Shore Drive to Northwestern as ramps were closed to clear it of traffic, according to fire communications. One of the firefighters taken there has died, sources said. The condition of the other one was not known.
Four of the firefighters were listed in critical condition, another eight in stable, according to Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Robert Hoff.
“We got firemen unaccounted for,’’ according to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford who was on the scene at 7:30 a.m. “Right now we’re working to get inside the building,’’ Langford said.
As of 7:24 a.m. the alarm has been elevated to a 3-11 and an EMS Plan II, which automatically sends about ten ambulances to the scene, is in effect, Knight said.
Knight said the building is 40 feet by 125 feet.
News Coverage
- STATter911.com: Breaking news: Wall collapse in Chicago injures 4 firefighters. One still trapped. Live dispatch.
- Firefighter Nation: Chicago Firefighters Trapped In Vacant Building Fire Collapse
- Firefighters unaccounted for, 3-alarm fire burning in South Shore
- Firefighters trapped after building collapses, call for MAYDAY response
- Firefighter unaccounted for at South Side fire
- Report: Four firefighters trapped after building collapses
- Fire Traps Firefighters in Building on South Side; 3 Rescued, 1 Still Missing
- 4 Firefighters Trapped
Firefighters dig through rubble as they search for trapped colleagues after a brick wall collapsed at a South Side fire in a vacant commercial building. (WGN-TV)
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