Dec. 23--It could take several weeks before investigators determine the cause of an extra-alarm fire that destroyed an industrial warehouse in the Avondale neighborhood on the Northwest Side Monday night, Fire officials said Tuesday.
The blaze started around 7:45 p.m. at the three-story warehouse in the 3000 block of North Rockwell Avenue, according to fire Cmdr. Walter Schroeder.
After firefighters had left the scene of the blaze early Tuesday, they were forced to return to the structure as the fire rekindled and crews had to attack the fire again, said Schroeder. No injuries were reported.
The rekindling delayed officials from the Office of Fire Investigation from entering the structure to begin determining how and where the fire began, said Schroeder.
Once they managed to get inside officials quickly determined that heavy equipment would be required to begin the investigative process, he said. He was informed that the process could take several weeks partly because of the holidays.
Ald. Deb Mell, 33rd, in whose ward the building resides, said she was at the fire late Monday and said the building was one of several buildings that were in the process of being renovated by the current owner, Paul Levy.
From what she has been told the building had yet to be renovated and was currently vacant.
"If there had to be a fire there that's the best case," said Mell.
A nearby business Metropolis Coffee Co.'s roasting facility which is in another building in the complex was not damaged but Tuesday was without power as crews continue to clean up the area, said Mell.
When crews arrived to the blaze Monday, firefighters found "a large amount of fire" on the second floor and raised their response around 8 p.m., fire Commissioner Jose Santiago said at the scene.
"We were concerned about the building," Santiago said. "We could tell that the building has been rehabbed sometime in the past. ... It makes it looks like it's brick, but we could tell it wasn't real brick."
The front portion of the roof collapsed but no one was injured, Santiago said.
The building houses offices, he said. Directly southeast of the warehouse is Metropolis Coffee Co.'s roasting facility. Tony Dreyfuss, co-owner of the company, watched as heavy smoke billowed from the building.
He said he got a call about the fire from someone at WGN-TV and he immediately went to check out what happened.
"It's terrifying," Dreyfuss said. "I was terrified for the safety of everyone."
He said an alley separates Metropolis' facility from the warehouse, but the two buildings are connected through utility lines. "I just hope everything and everyone is OK," he said.
Dreyfuss said he was not sure the roasting facility would be able to operate normally right away. He said it was scheduled to roast on Tuesday, but that might be interrupted because electricity and gas lines run through the two buildings.
"It's our busiest time of the year," he said. "We'll have to see what happens."
The fire was struck out around 10 p.m., fire officials said. But firefighters remained on the scene overnight chasing hot spots.
They returned Tuesday morning as more hot spots were noticed.
