Watch Chicago Firefighters Battle Auto Body Shop Fire

Firefighters were called to a three-alarm blaze Sunday morning in an auto body shop in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, where more than 150 emergency responders had to contend with hazardous materials including diesel fuel, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

The fire broke out at Car 1 Auto, 1339 W. 51st St., near West 51st and South Throop streets. Agency spokesman Larry Merritt said no injuries were reported and no evacuations were ordered.

Merritt said he was not aware of any ongoing danger to the community from the burning fuel and other materials.

A loss estimate for the building wasn’t immediately available, but Merritt said: “The roof of the building was completely caved in.”

Fire crews were called to the building at 5:08 a.m. Not long after arrival, officials upgraded the severity to a three-alarm fire, Merritt said in social media posts. The blaze was put out by 6:30 a.m.

“It was elevated to a higher level, extra alarms, with more equipment and more personnel,” he said.

The hazmat incident was declared at 5:36 a.m. once crews arrived on-site and became concerned about what might be inside, Merritt said. It was considered contained at 7:22 a.m.

According to Merritt, the response was for a Level 1 hazmat call, the lowest, or least dangerous, level.

For a Level 1 incident, the materials typically can be cleaned up by emergency crews at the time of the call, and there is little risk to the environment or public health.

“It’s based on what was in the facility, including diesel fuel. As far as the totality of the chemicals that were in there, I don’t know, but with fuel and other automotive materials, (the hazardous materials call) was issued as a precaution,” Merritt said.

Chicago police and workers from the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation also were called out to help.

“Officers were on scene (and) assigned to the outside perimeter of the fire,” Officer Roberto Garduno, a police spokesman, said in an email.

Streets and Sanitation workers and firefighters remained on the scene cleaning debris hours after the initial call, Garduno said. The Police Department could not comment on what substance caused the fire, he said in an email.

Merritt said the cause of the fire was not immediately known and it will be determined by Fire Department investigators.

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