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Cicero Firefighters Respond To Two Extra-Alarm Fires

CICERO, Ill. (CBS) -- It's been a very busy morning for Cicero firefighters, dealing with two large fires just blocks apart.

CBS 2's Courtney Gousman reports, through the night, fire crews braved dangerous cold as they worked to extinguish a fire at a vacant warehouse, and later responded to a large house fire about a mile away.

Working to put out two large fires in less than 12 hours thinned out resources for the Cicero Fire Department, forcing them to rely heavily on assistance from departments in neighboring towns like Bedford Park, Berwyn, Lyons, Oak Park, and Stickney.

The first fire started around 6 p.m. Tuesday in a vacant warehouse at 1829 54th Av. in Cicero. The blaze eventually was raised to a four-alarm fire, as it spread to a neighboring business just to the south.

A wall of the vacant warehouse collapsed in the blaze. In addition, about 1,600 homes in nearby Berwyn temporarily lost power as a result of the blaze.

Cicero firefighters were still tending to that fire when another extra-alarm fire started in a house about a mile away.

Flames and thick smoke consumed a two-flat frame building in the 1400 block of 50th Court in Cicero. No injuries had been reported as of 6:30 a.m. Sources said everyone made it out safe.

The warehouse fire rekindled while crews were on the scene of the house fire, prompting them to pull a few trucks away to return to the vacant warehouse.

Both scenes proved to be a major challenge for firefighters, due to the near zero temperatures overnight, which created sheets of water near fire hoses.

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