Investigators Looking Into 'Suspicious' Fire On Near West Side
CHICAGO (STMW) - Fire officials are investigating a "suspicious" blaze Thursday morning at a vacant building on the Near West Side.
About 8:50 a.m., firefighters responded to a fire in a vacant 2 1/2-story brick building in the 2200 block of West Washburne Avenue, according to Fire Media Affairs spokesman Richard Rosado.
Flames were shooting through the roof when firefighters arrived, he said. About 60 fire personnel battled the blaze.
Firefighters extinguished the flames at 9:44 a.m., according to Fire Media Director Larry Langford.
No one was in the building and no injuries were reported, he said.
The structure -- the only one on the block -- had been boarded up for the past couple months an no utilities were connected, according to Langford.
Investigators were still working to determine the cause of the fire Thursday, but it is considered "suspicious," Langford said.
The building is located about a block west of the FBI's Chicago office and a block south of the Cook County Juvenile Court building.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
