Fire engulfs factory on Northwest Side of Chicago

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A factory was destroyed by a fire Tuesday in the Hermosa neighborhood on the Northwest Side.

Crews responded by 5 p.m. to the fire at Newly Weds Foods in the 4100 block of West Wrightwood Avenue, the Chicago Fire Dept. said.

The fire was upgraded by 7 p.m. to a hazmat scene and a level 5-alarm, in which 20 additional engines were called. The department said the building had collapsed and "will be a total loss."

Crews were "turning the corner" on the fire about 8:50 p.m., the department said in a tweet. By then, the roof of the adjacent building had collapsed.

"We had heavy fire in many locations," the department said. "This fire had one-third of on-duty companies in the city responding."

When the fire was first detected, employees evacuated themselves from the building and were all accounted for, the department said.

One firefighter was transported for a "very minor issue," according to the fire department, which did not immediately reply to a request for details.

Photos showed flames spreading to the nearby Metra Milwaukee District North tracks, where trains stopped for over an hour for "fire adjacent to the tracks," Metra said in a statement.

The Department of Water Management increased water pressure in the area to help supply the engines, the fire department said.

Newly Weds Foods is a global corporation founded in Chicago in 1932. The company makes batters and breadings for the frozen food service industry.