It's just before noon, and I'm sitting here trying to make sense of the chaos that unfolded earlier this morning at the massive fire in the self-storage facility near 62nd and Harlem. This is what Eric Haak had to say about it:
"Here are some images taken early on during the Chicago Fire Department’s 2-11 Alarm this morning (June 9th, 2019). The fire broke out at around 6:00 AM and quickly spread through several storage units. Unfortunately, the hydrants in the area turned out to be non-functional, which complicated things significantly. As the situation worsened, the alarm was escalated to a still and box response. What you don't see in these photos is the complexity of the building layout. Each exterior unit had an additional unit accessible only via an interior hallway. By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had already advanced above those exterior units, and the roof was deemed too unstable for interior operations. That's when the decision was made to switch to a defensive strategy.
Squad 5A took a position in the interior lot, while Tower Ladder 54 was set up along Harlem Avenue. You can see Tower Ladder 39 in the background, but I'm not entirely sure if they ended up flowing water. It was quite a sight to see Engine 8 pumping water from the corner of 61st and Harlem, while a Summit engine was supplying water to the Chicago FD. These logistical challenges made the firefighting efforts even more intense."
And here are some of the images Eric captured:
[Image descriptions follow]
Meanwhile, Jim Skrabel chimed in with a few more shots taken by his son, Chris Skrabel:
"I wanted to share some additional photos from the same incident. My son managed to get some great shots from the scene. Here's what he had to say about it."
[More image descriptions follow]
It's incredible to see how quickly a situation like this can escalate, especially given the challenges posed by the building design and limited access points. Firefighting in these types of scenarios is never easy, and it's clear that the crews did everything they could to contain the fire. These photos really capture the intensity of the moment, and I can only imagine the effort that went into bringing it under control.
Air Hose Fittings,Air Hose For Compressor,1 2 Inch Air Hose,1 4 Air Hose Fittings
ShinYee (Zhejiang) Pneumatic Technology Co., LTD , https://www.pneuvalve.com