This fire occurred in late January, 2008 in Harvey, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago.  There was a driving lake effect snow storm that evening which produced very thick, heavy snow flakes. For those who are not from Chicago, we regularly get snow that comes in off Lake Michigan when the atmosphere is right. When this happens it often creates blizzard-like conditions.

Eric Haak photo

Similar to Gary, Indiana or Detroit, Michigan, the suburb of Harvey has seen it’s better days and today shows all of the signs of the blight created when the economic engines of the past have long moved on. The department runs out of 4 stations and has 57 career members.

Eric Haak photo

Eric Haak photo

On this particular evening, the Harvey Fire Department came across water issues when they arrived on the scene.  When I arrived, the fire had already consumed most of the 1.5-story frame and the attention had turned to protecting the exposures.  Unfortunately, this incident resulted in one fatality.

Eric Haak photo

Eric Haak photo