The Associated Press
CHICAGO - Hundreds of firefighters were called to douse hot spots this morning from a fire that engulfed a Chicago candle factory.
Firefighters say they were called to a wax factory at 15th and Ashland about 10:20 last night, eventually summoning some 300 firefighters to the scene to help quench the flames.
Fire Department spokesman Will Knight says about 300 firefighters even remained at the scene as of about 5 a.m. -- about two-and-a-half hours after the blaze was contained.
Firefighters battled the multiple-alarm blaze in the two-story building for nearly four hours before declaring it under control shortly before 2:30 a.m.
Smoke continued to pour out at about 6:30 a.m. from a box car behind the building.
The west building on the property is a total loss. Demolition crews were called in to take care of the building and warned to watch out for smaller fires that could break out.
Officials say one firefighter suffered a minor shoulder injury, but no other injuries have been reported.
Plumes of black smoke still can be seen for miles across the city, but authorities say power has been restored to residents near the blaze who experienced outages overnight.
The cause of the fire isn’t yet known.
There were no evacuations necessary, but the flames frightened employees and neighbors in the area.
“The fire itself looked like it was 20 feet tall, and it was so big that we could feel the heat from about 50 to 100 feet away, so it was amazing,” said neighbor Casey Badwan. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”