“It was the only thing we could do. Both stairwells were filled with smoke. There was nowhere to go but up.”
It started as a slight smell of smoke, possibly from a cigarette he thought. But when the smell continued to grow stronger and smoke began seeping through the vents inside his apartment, Jeff Amsel called 911. As his apartment began to fill with smoke, he woke up his 6-year old daughter and, clothed only in loungewear ran out into the hallway. With no other options, they grabbed some winter coats and headed for the roof.
This morning’s hi-rise fire at The Plaza on DeWitt in the Streeterville neighborhood in Chicago has now claimed at least one life and developed into a five-alarm challenge for firefighters facing the first brutally windy and cold night of the season. Among the many injured reported were several Chicago firefighters treated for smoke inhalation.
Nearly 8 years ago, an eerily similar fire at this 51-story condominium building at 260 East Chestnut resulted in a fatality and injuring eight firefighters. As in this morning’s fire, the January 2002 fire also required firefighters to rescue residents from the building’s roof where they had also fled for safety.
The 2002 fire revived criticism by local fire experts about the City of Chicago’s refusal to require sprinkler systems in residential high-rises built prior to 1975. Because of the expense involved in retro-fitting these buildings, the city has given them an alternative. They have until Jan. 1, 2012 to take alternative life-saving measures. The modifications could include communication systems, fire hoses and emergency backup equipment.
Read more on these stories from Chicago Breaking News here , here and here. FireGeezer has posted a video report as well at his site.
Here is the fire communications audio:
Also on Fire Daily…
- NIOSH summary report on CFD firefighter/paramedic Christopher Wheatley’s LODD prompts an interesting question – June 29, 2011
- VIDEO AND FIREGROUND AUDIO: (LODD) CFD’s Cory Ankum and Edward Stringer die, 19 firefighters seriously injured in Chicago Building Collapse- 100 years to the day of the Chicago Stockyards Fire that killed 21 firefighters – December 22, 2010
- Fire Daily’s 360 Burn Around The Fire Webs – February 2, 2012
- Chief Ray Hoff, one of the best, passes. – March 15, 2011
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