Bizarre Fire at Chicago Warehouse in Icy Weather

Last night, an abandoned Bridgeport warehouse caught fire, starting the largest Chicago fire in seven years. mapsales.com takes a look at the bizarre photos of the massive fire in icy temperatures.

The blaze was spotted shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday evening. The fire department called extra alarms as the fire spread quickly through the warehouse and the roof collapsed. The bitter cold weather worked against them as over 200 firefighters contended with the massive fire as well as heavy ice on fire hydrants, hoses and ladders.

"Everything is wood inside these buildings, beautiful façades on the outside. They've been up for a long time. When they start burning like this, they start coming down," Chicago Fire Cmsr. Jose Santiago said.

Working against the frigid temperatures and building ice, the fire was finally brought under control around 12:30 a.m. Firefighters were still spraying down hot spots early this morning.

Chicago is remembered for the historic fire of 1871, one of the largest US disasters of the 19th century. A disaster which led to the rebuilding of Chicago and it’s emergence as one of the most populous and economically important American cities. See this transformation depicted in a 1916 Chicago Antique Wall Map, which shows a populous and thriving city forty years after the fire.

Perhaps the Bridgeport fire will allow rebuilding of the abandoned warehouse into something new and inspiring.