Chicago, IL – The recent fire at 135 S. LaSalle St. was caused by electrical malfunctions, Chicago Fire Department investigators said today.
“While further testing of material may take several months, it is the collective opinion of the agencies involved in the investigation that the fire was accidental and was initiated by unknown electrical activity,” the Department’s lead fire investigator, Lt. Anthony Martin, told a news conference at the Office of Emergency Management and Communication, 1411 W. Madison St.
Martin led the investigating team, which also included representatives of the Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
At the news conference, Fire Department officials gave a detailed presentation outlining the most critical areas of the investigation.
They also showed internal videotapes of the December 6 blaze for the first time and said critiques of the Department’s response will help them improve the way they fight fires in high-rise buildings.
“Over our city’s history, the Chicago Fire Department has learned from every fire incident to improve firefighting tactics and strategies,” said Commissioner Cortez Trotter. “We must use the experiences learned at 135 S. LaSalle fire to make further improvements.”
The CFD has used information from two of three critiques of this fire to further improve its high-rise incident command strategy, Trotter said.
These critiques have resulted in:
- Restructuring command vans deployment throughout the city;
- Emergency Medical Service presence closer to the fire floor;
- Developing a personnel “identification system” to assist in identification of injured personnel to the fire support floor; and
- The department is in the process of equipping one helicopter with an airborne thermal imager that will not only assist with search and rescue but help identify fire patterns.
The third critique will take place in meetings with the LaSalle Bank tenants involved in the fire.
The Department was able to fight the fire with minimal injury as a result of the fire safety education exercised by building management; the newly implemented high-rise incident command order that increased response to fire incidents by 60 percent; the new Rapid Ascent Team Search (RATS); and continuous high-rise training implemented since May, Trotter said.
“Everything worked the way it should work – from the heroic actions of all of the first responders, to the work done on the follow-up investigation by everyone involved,” said Hiram Grau, Chicago Police Deputy Superintendent of Investigative Services.
