Aftermath of a Skyscraper Fire

Here's what it looks like at The Plaza on Dewitt (260 East Chestnut Street) a couple of days after a fire on the 36th floor of the 43-story building killed an elderly German woman.

If you click to enlarge the photo, you can see the windows have been boarded up on some of the units on the 36th and 37th floors.  Meanwhile, the streets below are clogged with an army of carpet cleaning and other disaster repair service vans.

The last I read, the fire was caused by a kitchen appliance and is being called accidental.

Second Skyscraper Fire This Month Kills A Woman

By now you've heard about the fire that broke out at the Plaza on Dewitt (260 East Chestnut Street).  Here's a picture of the aftermath from the outside:

According to the Chicago Tribune, the fire on the 36th floor of the 43-story tower killed an elderly woman who lived in the condominium where the fire broke out after midnight.  About a dozen people were hurt.

The Trib quotes people at the Chicago Fire Department as saying the flames went out the 36th floor window and up and into the unit on the 37th floor.  You can see in the photos how that might happen, especially considering how windy it was last night.

Coincidentally, a few hours before the fire, the Chicago Fire Department conducted a fire evacuation drill at another residential skyscraper just two blocks away.