Chicago 3-11 Alarm fire in a commercial building

Last night, or more accurately early this morning, there was a 3-11 Alarm fire on Chicago’s south side. I spent three hours at the scene and have just begun to view and edit my images.

Here are two fun shots from the scene. The first is Chicago’s reserve Snorkel that was built in 1982. It appears to be a bear to drive, but it’s still quite an impressive unit. In the photo, it had just been spotted where it would go to work.

Chicago FD 1982 reserve Snorkel
Chicago’s reserve Snorkel getting ready to deploy with thick black smoke billowing from the upper floors of the building in the background. Larry Shapiro photo

Everyone today has a smart phone, or at least virtually everyone does. This next image shows several firefighters using down time to get some photos and video for themselves.

ire men with cellphones at fire scene
Three firemen pause with their smart phones to record the fire. Larry Shapiro photo