Breaking: High Rise Fire Chicago 12/06/04

12/06/04 | GRRRRR

[GRRRRR]

A high rise in the Chicago Loop at 135 S. LaSalle has at least one floor on fire. Live shots show a raging fire through the windows.

This is the LaSalle Bank Building. Began just after 1830h.

G

[MediaMole]

4 alarms would be a minimal response to a working fire in a building of this size. The logistics of fighting a fire 29 floors up is mind boggling

[TexKat]

High-Rise Fire Reported In Loop

Fire Reported On 29th Floor

POSTED: 6:46 pm CST December 6, 2004
UPDATED: 7:41 pm CST December 6, 2004

Firefighters are responding to reports of a high-rise fire at 135 South Lasalle St. at this hour.

The building is the LaSalle National Bank Building, which is a 45-story building built in 1934 -- before sprinklers were required on every floor in high-rises.

There are reports of people inside the building. Witnesses have said people are waving their hands out windows, and flames could be seen coming out of at least five windows.

The Chicago 911 center told NBC5 is has reports of people on the 26th, 27th, 30th and 34th floors.

One woman who works on the 40th floor spoke with NBC5 after she escaped from the building. She said she made her way in a stairwell to the 35th floor, where the smoke became too much for her. The woman said firefighters were able to rescue her and several others.

"The announcement said the fire was on the 29th floor, and it said for us to stay still and not to move," another woman who escaped from the building said. "We decided to just leave, despite the instructions."

Another man, who was on the 29th floor, said he did not hear a fire alarm, but saw and smelled smoke.

"I did not hear a fire alarm, I saw smoke and I immediately went down to the lobby," the man said. "The first people who came down did not hear a fire alarm, we just saw smoke."

Several fire engines have been called to the scene, as well as 10 ambulances. Several people are being treated with oxygen outside the building.

Refresh this page for updates on this developing story.

[stratocaster]

Large window frame just crashed to the ground. Smoke appears to be coming from the top floor or top of the building. Reports indicate at least one person on the roof...might be a firefighter

[ken5050]

Thanks..again, I'm very surprised..

[SlowBoat407]

Anybody know the stats on this building? Age? Fire code compliance (outside of no sprinklers). Big vulnerability now is network cables going through plenums and risers if they're not up to NEC and NFPA specs.

[flutters]

IPN was slow posting the information on their site.

http://www.incidentpage.net/

[Neets]

Ok, thanks sweetie,

[Velveeta]

Completed in 1934. It's old.

[Chi-One]

ABC 7 states bldg built from 1931 to 1934.

[stockpirate]

the first set of pictures on the thread appears to have been when the fire first broke through the glass windows. How you can tell is that the fire is being sucked into the building, this is caused by an inrush of air when the glass first breaks out. Later in the thread we see flames coming out of the windows. This shows that now the fire is getting pleany of air and is growing.

[mhking]

Have they said what businesses are in the building?

135 S. LaSalle is the LaSalle Bank HQ.

From the LaSalle Bank website:

LaSalle Bank is headquartered in Chicago and has $62.8 billion in assets and $36.4 billion in deposits. One of the largest banks in the Midwest and second largest in Chicago, LaSalle Bank serves individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and institutions with streamlined solutions to meet the scope of customers' financial needs. LaSalle has more than 140 retail locations and 500 ATMs throughout Chicago and the neighboring suburbs. Online banking is offered through lasallebank.com.

LaSalle maintains commercial banking offices in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Denver, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Des Moines, Rockford and Peoria, Illinois, St. Louis, Tampa and Miami. Subsidiaries include LaSalle National Leasing Corporation, LaSalle Business Credit, LLC and ABN AMRO Financial Services, Inc.

Parent company, LaSalle Bank Corporation, is headquartered in Chicago with $106.6 billion in assets. LaSalle Bank Corporation is a subsidiary of Netherlands-based ABN AMRO Bank N.V., one of the world’s largest banks with total assets of EUR 632.8 billion with more than 3,000 locations in over 60 countries. Learn more about LaSalle Bank in our corporate profile and fact sheet.

[drjimmy]

Smoke appears to be coming from the top floor or top of the building.

In a multi-story building, the most dangerous places are the fire floor, the floor right above, and the top floor. Those are the places the fire wants to go.

[ken5050]

This building has to have been renovated since 1975..probably new windows, A/C..major interiors..upgraded power and fiberoptics..it's in the prime commerical area of Chicago, right. I didn't think you could do a renovation without addign sprinklers, and I'm surprised that ANY major tenatn, like a bank..would rent unsprinklered office space..Heads are gonna roll..

[jdm]

ABC7 Video Clip of Fire

[plymaniac]

Two more offices involved! This is a matter of fire rating. Both vertical and horizontal. Come on CFD!!

[Ellesu]

http://www.cbs2chicago.com/

they are streaming live...sorry if already posted.

[SlowBoat407]

So steel and concrete. Can the heat migrate through the steel columns enough to ignite materials on floors above?

[GRRRRR]

I've heard banking of course, and real estate. I don't believe that there are any apartments. Build in 1934, last building built before the hiatus during the depression. Metal frame contstruction, was the PREMIER building in Chicago for many years. The next biggest building started in 1940, First ?Something? Building... In this pic, you can see the office on the farthest to the left is now starting to burn.

Fourty-five stories tall. There are also LAW firms in this building. A lawyer who has his offices there said they had to open the windows to get air into their area, around the 35th floor.

[drjimmy]

Where's O. J. Simpson?
And why don't they just blow up the water tanks on the roof?

[hut1hut2]

All cables are required to be in pipe- no open cables are allowed in plenums. Chicago Code