Large fire at paper recycling plant in Chicago worsened by powerful winds
CHICAGO - Fire crews put out an extra-alarm blaze that broke out Tuesday afternoon in the yard of a Brighton Park paper recycling plant.
The wind-blown fire started in a prairie after 4 p.m. and "spread really fast" to the yard of the paper plant near 48th Place and Christiana Avenue, according to Chicago fire officials.
The blaze reached the plant’s main building by about 5 p.m. as huge piles of paper continued to burn in the back, fire officials said.
The fire was extinguished about two hours later, with the majority of the damage confined to the paper products in the yard, fire officials said.
Crews upgraded the fire to a hazmat situation due to containers of acid and propane being kept at the plant, but the firefighters were able to keep the flames away from any hazardous materials, fire officials said.
As a precaution, the CTA shut down power to the Kedzie station nearby for over three hours Tuesday evening, suspending Orange Line service entirely between the Midway and Western stops.
Trains were running again by 7:20 p.m., and resumed stopping at the Kedzie station about an hour later, the CTA said.
No one was injured in the fire, officials said.