Crime & Safety
FedEx Skokie Catches Fire
It marks the second blaze at a commercial building in less than five days.
At least three fire trucks were dispatched to , 3747 Howard St., around 12 p.m. Wednesday.
The blaze started after a team of heating and ventilation repairmen made an error when they served the facility, according to Skokie Battalion Fire Chief Jeff Wimer. Ultimately, the roof caught on fire and smoke could be seen from outside the building.
"Things could have gotten out of hand if we didn't get here in time," Wimer said. "It looked bad when we got here; there was a lot of smoke."
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As a precaution, police and fire officials blocked off Howard and Crawford avenues as well as Howard and St. Louis avenues.
Wimer said minimal damage was caused from the fire and that the facility and its packages should be fine. FedEx semi trucks could be seen exiting the building as firefighters handled the situation for almost an hour.
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A FedEx employee said the building will be closed for the remainder of the day and should reopen tomorrow.
It marks the second fire of a commercial building in less than five days for Skokie. On Saturday, Pep Boys, 5222 Touhy Ave., was damaged in a fire that started shortly after 9:30 p.m. To read that story,
No further information is available at this time.
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