A 4-11 alarm fire with multiple towers, multi-versals, and handlines on the fire building and exposure buildings next-door in the Northlake/Melrose Park Area (VIDEO CREDIT: Steve Redick).
Northlake firefighters responded about 5:50 p.m. Saturday to a report of a commercial building fire at Higgins Road and Dickens Avenue. Upon arrival they found a tire sale/service/and storage building well-involved with fire. A Mutual Alarm Box Alarm System (MABAS) Box Alarm was requested and activated by MABAS Division 20 at about 5:56 p.m. — followed by a Second Alarm, a Third Alarm, and a Fourth Alarm. Two MABAS Strike Team activations also occurred bringing extra engines from North Maine, Niles, Morton Grove, Glenview and Prospect Heights, and a foam unit from O’Hare International Airport.
A concentration of tires burned brightly and fiercely caused the A-side of the building to collapse within about 30 minutes. The structure of the building also had the more dangerous Bowstring Truss type construction, which is more dangerous because it promotes a more oxygen rich burn, and it is more likely to collapse catastrophically. The construction type practically didn’t matter, however, because the of the type of fuel that was inside the building — an inventory of tires burned with a wall of flames four or five-stories into the rising smoke column.
The eventual address was revealed to be Jacobson Tires, 2200 North Mannheim Road in Northlake.
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Google Maps places 2200 North Mannheim Road south of the intersection of Mannheim Road and Dickens Avenue, but the location was actually at the northwest corner of the intersection.
The fire was located directly across the street from a Shell gas station, which had many people wondering if the gas station was burning. Firefighters doused buildings directly to the west and to the north of the main fire building at Jacobson Tires, to prevent the buildings exposed to heat and fire from igniting.
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Fire scene in Northlake showing the Chicago Fire Department Foam Task with Crash Truck 6-5-3 gointo operation up close at the building (VIDEO CREDIT: Larry Shapiro).
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The fierce fire with a tall column of fire was only 2.5 miles south of Runway 4R at O’Hare International Airport.
Breaking news from CHICAGOFIREMAP.NET …
SAT FEB 15 2014 ~5:56 PM
NORTHLAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
COMMERCIAL BUILDING FIRE/INTERDIVISIONAL STRIKE TEAM ENGINES/4-11/3-11/2-11/BOX ALARM
MANNHEIM RD AND DICKENS RD NORTHLAKE – MELROSE PARK, IL
MABAS DIVISION 20 BOX ALARM ON BOX #600 THEN #1501 FOR A TIRE STORE FIRE. BOWSTRING TRUSS ROOF WITH A WELL-INVOLVED BUILDING WITH INITIAL COLLAPSE OF DIVISION A BY 6:21 PM.
BOX ALARM
ENGINE(S): BENSENVILLE, HILLSIDE, STONE PARK
TRUCK(S): ELMHURST, FRANKLIN PARK, BELLWOOD
SQUAD(S): NORTHLAKE 809
RIT: LEYDEN AMB 130, SCHILLER PARK TRK
EMS: BENSENVILLE, MELROSE PARK
CHIEF(S): NORTHLAKE, MELROSE PARK, BENSENVILLE BC, FRANKLIN PARK, STONE PARK, LEYDEN
SPECIAL: HEAVY DUTY WRECKER TOW TRUCKS
CHANGE OF QUARTERS: ELMWOOD PARK ENGINE, WOOD DALE AMBULANCE
2ND ALARM AT 06:04 PM
2-11 ALARM AT 07:05 PM
ENGINE(S): ELMWOOD PARK, BERKELEY
TRUCK(S): ROSEMONT
SQUAD(S): BROADVIEW
EMS: SCHILLER PARK (REHAB)
CHIEF(S): HILLSIDE, SCHILLER PARK
SPECIAL: DIVISION 20 COMBAT
CHANGE OF QUARTERS: NORWOOD PARK ENGINE
3RD ALARM AT 6:16 PM
ENGINE(S): RIVER FOREST
TRUCK(S): MAYWOOD
EMS: WOOD DALE
CHIEF(S): ELMWOOD PARK, BERKELEY
SPECIAL: ROSEMONT CASCADE
CHANGE OF QUARTERS: PARK RIDGE ENGINE, ITASCA AMBULANCE
STAGING: FULLERTON
4TH ALARM AT 6:30 PM
ENGINE(S): WESTCHESTER, PARK RIDGE
TRUCK(S): ADDISON
CHIEF(S): BELLWOOD
ENGINE STRIKE TEAM AT 6:31 PM FROM MABAS DIVISION 3.
STRIKE TEAM FROM DIVISION 3: NORTH MAINE E1, NILES E2, MORTON GROVE E5, GLENVIEW E7, PROSPECT HEIGHTS E9
FOAM TRUCK TASK FORCE FROM O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FROM DIVISION 9 — CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT.
LIVE TRAFFIC MAP …
http://maps.google.com/?q=mannheim+rd+and+dickens+rd+northlake/melrose+park,+il&t=h&z=17&layer=t
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Massive fire at tire business in Melrose Park. pic.twitter.com/DOPyZbp5r8
— JohnGarciaABC7 (@JohnGarciaABC7) February 16, 2014
Looks to be a 4-11 alarm fire now on Mannheim. Ton of trucks and 3 buildings ablaze xD pic.twitter.com/NKHyZiWLwO
— Diz Foley (@DizFoley) February 16, 2014
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