BARTLETT, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Bartlett's top fire official said he expects crews to be on the scene of a document storage warehouse fire all weekend.
The fire first broke out just before 10 a.m. Thursday morning at the Access Corporation document storage and shredding company on 1200 block of Humbracht Circle in the Brewster Creek Business Park in Bartlett, according to Bartlett Fire Protection District Chief William Gabrenya.
He said the facility had been stacked "floor to ceiling, 40-feet high" with storage boxes of paper documents, all of which have burned or continue to burn.
Chief Gabrenya told WBBM Newsradio all the employees of Access Corporation were able to safely make it out of the building.
He said firefighters from about 20 surrounding communities have been helping his fire crews pour water on the fire.
"Now, we're just rotating the crews through trying to keep them warm. Some of the challenges we're facing out here is with the weather. So, it's extremely cold out here. It's windy out here. We've had some fire pumps freeze. We've had some hoses freeze," he said.
Chief Gabrenya said the warehouse's sprinkler system had kept the fire in check in the center of the building, but that once the roof started caving in, the sprinkler system was knocked out causing the fire to rage.
On Friday, he said, more tower ladder trucks will be brought in to pour water on the fire from above.
But, Chief Gabrenya said, the fire won't be out until heavy machinery can start moving in Friday to knock down the rest of the walls and start spreading out the mounds of paper that are burning to be able to better hit it with water.
None of the employees of the storage facility were injured. The chief said a couple of firefighters were slightly hurt when they slipped on ice.
Access said it will work with the Bartlett Fire Protection District to determine the cause.
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