On June 16, 2003, Chicago firefighters were again faced with a significant commercial fire. A 2-11 alarm with several additional calls for extra units ocurred at 2459 Armitage ave near the busy 3 way intersection with Milwaukee Avenue.
This fire happened at the height of the morning commute, and the CTA Blue Line ( The EL) had to be halted in both directions due to the proximity of the tracks to the fire building. Heavy smoke was visible as the fire consumed the cockloft of this triangular shaped corner building. 2 tower ladders, a snorkel, aerial pipe and several multi-versals and a deck gun worked on the fire. It was an exterior attack from early on due to known hazards in the building.
The fire was contained to the 2 occupancies of origin . A significant exposure to an abutted commercial structure was minimized. Extensive use of large diameter (4") hose assured adequate water to supply all the master streams.
