Ice forms as Chicago fights worst blaze in years
Firefighters in Chicago spent the night battling a five-alarm blaze in single-digit temperatures. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
By John Newland and Daniel Arkin, NBC News
A massive fire ripped through a warehouse in Chicago's South Side Tuesday night, as firefighters were hampered by bone-chilling temperatures so low that water froze on their uniforms.
The 170 firefighters on the scene battled the elements on two fronts as the monster blaze consumed a warehouse building, endangering an adjacent structure, while temperatures dipped into the single-digits.
Photos taken at the scene showed flames towering above the abandoned warehouse as icicles formed on a fire hose. One photo showed a firefighter with his jacket, hat and gloves caked in chunks of ice.
?This is a major fire,? the Chicago Fire Department posted on Twitter, adding that the scale of the response -- five alarms plus two ?special? calls for additional trucks -- was ?extremely rare.?
Charles Rex Arbogast / AP
Icicles form on a fire hose from single digit temperatures as Chicago firefighters battle a five-alarm blaze in a warehouse on the city's South Side, on Jan. 23, in Chicago.
The fire briefly jumped to a neighboring building, causing concern, according to reports. The adjacent structure is a printing company, the building's owner told NBCChicago.com. He was worried that certain chemicals inside could explode.
Firefighters were also concerned about a nearby fuel pumping station east of the warehouse.
The fire department's messages on Twitter highlighted the intensity of the blaze: ?Rear is collapsed. ? North end of building starting to fall. ? (The fire department) will be here for hours.?
The department declared the fire under control early Wednesday. By then, the warehouse was sheathed in a thick layer of ice.
One firefighter was taken to a hospital with a ?minor back issue,? fire officials said.
It is unclear what caused the blaze.
"We haven't had a fire this big in many years," Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford told NBCChicago.com.
Charles Rex Arbogast / AP
Chicago firefighters battle a five-alarm blaze in single-digit temperatures at a warehouse on the city's south side early Wednesday.
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