Teen Caused Fire That Damaged Two Ill. Buildings

Jan. 26, 2014
He set the fire in a vacant Cicero warehouse to keep warm.

Jan. 25--Police have charged a juvenile in connection with an extra-alarm blaze that destroyed a vacant warehouse and a neighboring business Tuesday night in west suburban Cicero.

The teen, who is not being named because he's a juvenile, went to the warehouse at 1829 S. 54th Ave. with at least two other high-school-age teens. The teen then started a fire, possibly to keep warm, according to the Town of Cicero spokesman Ray Hanania. The teen then began to play with the fire and caused it to spread before fleeing with the others.

Cicero Town Water Department Supervisor David Duran had just repaired a broken water pipe a few blocks away from the warehouse when he saw flames coming out of the windows, said Hanania. Duran alerted fire officials to the scene.

The warehouse fire spread to an adjacent business that housed Central Steel Fabricators. Both buildings were completely destroyed, said Hanania.

A fire at a residence on the 1400 block of South 50th Court that broke out early Wednesday morning was unrelated to the warehouse fire. Fire officials said this afternoon that fire was caused by a space heater that was left on while the homeowners were asleep, said Hanania.

[email protected] -- Twitter: @neacynewslady

Copyright 2014 - Chicago Tribune

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