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Five Garages Damaged By Fire In Marquette Park

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Flames damaged or destroyed at least five garages in the same alley in the Marquette Park neighborhood overnight.

The fire started around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday in the alley between 65th Street and 65th Place, just east of Central Park Avenue.

Galacio Lechuga said he heard a banging noise or explosion around 1:30 a.m., and when he looked out his windows, he saw his next-door neighbor's garage on fire.

"The whole garage was up in flames. We saw the flames started waving back and forth to our garage, and then they started moving back, like if it was going toward the houses," he said.

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Lechuga said he was worried the fire would spread to someone's house.

"Luckily, it just stayed within the garages, and didn't move on over to the houses, or it didn't spread even more down the block," he said.

Most of his neighbor's garage was gutted, and the minivan inside was left charred by flames.

At least two garages were totaled. Three others were slightly or seriously damaged.

Fire Department Cmdr. Will Knight said it's unclear how the fire started, but because of the number of garages involved, it was being considered suspicious.

Lechuga said he was told it appears the fire started in his neighbor's garage, and spread from there.

"That's what everyone is saying. It originated from the garage. They just don't know exactly what caused it. So they don't know if it's arson, or if it's an electrical fire, or how it started," he said.

No one was injured.

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