PREVIOUS
current fire scene photos that are not NEWS
By John Tulipano from a trip to Detroit in late October of 2013
On the evening of November 6, 2010, fire broke out in the back, second floor bedroom, of this late 1800’s apartment building in Chicago’s old Pilsen neighborhood. In the days after the fire, family members speculated that the cause was a space heater, although a determined cause was never reported.
The result was the tragic death of a father and his young son. The 3-year old was found in the same room as the fire’s origin. The father had run back inside the burning apartment in an attempt to rescue his children and was successful in wrapping his one-year old daughter in a blanket before he succumbed to the smoke. She was found lying next to him and the fact that her head was wrapped in the blanket probably saved her life.
I arrived to see her being rushed to the ambulance but was unaware of what else had happened. The father would die several weeks later. The picture sequence seems out of order but the less smokey images are actually from when I first arrived. The fire eventually made it’s way into the attic and it was brought under control using an exterior attack from Tower Ladder 5, who was running a spare rig that day.
Steve Redick forwarded this video of the 4-11 Alarm fire in Chicago on April 29, 2007
Just after sunrise on Sunday morning, April 29, 2007, fire engulfed this old Chicago warehouse in the 2100 block of West Carroll on the near west side. There is a great video on YouTube of the scene before companies even arrived which was filmed by residents living in the building at the end of the street. The 100 x 250, 3-story heavy timber building was fully involved before Engine 26 and Truck 7 arrived, sending thick smoke throughout the neighborhoods for miles to the north. The building was being renovated into lofts at the time. I arrived in time to capture the second collapse of the sector 1 wall which you can see in the first two images.
Chicago companies had a Still and Box alarm @ 4258 w Iowa on April 6th, 2013. Fire looked like it started on the first floor and then extended into the 2nd floor and attic. Still companies were 117 and Tower 14. Wind was blowing really strong, which made it a little difficult for the companies. Here are some of my photos.
Josh Boyajian
The Dixie Square Mall opened in the south Chicago suburb of Harvey back in 1966 and at the time, it featured all of the “modern” comforts of a beautiful shopping center. When looking at pictures from it’s grand opening, it is hard to believe that this could happen, but instead of becoming a mainstay of the community, the mall closed in 1978 and became better known for it’s appearance in the classic movie The Blues Brothers. Yes, it is the mall that Jake and Elwood drove through during the mall chase scene.
It sat vacant for over 30 years and had many small fires set in it over that period. On a hot July evening back in 2009, a larger fire was set in what used to be the mall’s center foyer. It spread across the wooden eaves of the old J.C. Penney store which is the larger structure you see in the images. There wasn’t much drama at this one and most of the work was done by Harvey’s tower ladder.
There were some interesting long lead-outs as hydrants were quite a distance away. With temperatures in the mid-90’s and no exposure issues, companies took their time accessing these hydrants to supply the tower and a few hand lines with water. It has since been torn down.