3 workers hurt in Loop high-rise fire
Three workers were injured in a fire at a downtown high-rise last night while trying to remove asbestos, authorities said today.
The men, in their mid-30s to mid-50s, were taken to area hospitals, and at least two of them suffered smoke inhalation, police Lt. James Sazama said. He declined to release their conditions, citing federal privacy laws.
The fire started somewhere on the 4th floor of the building at 79 W. Monroe St. around 10 p.m. The workers were in a passageway that contains electrical wiring when they were injured, according to fire Deputy District Chief Tony Romano.
"The workers could not get out of the shaft, except for the 6th and 14th floor," Sazama said.
One of the workers was on the 8th floor and was able to make it to the 6th, but the other two had to climb a ladder to the 14th floor, the lieutenant said. He did not know where in the shaft those two were coming from.
Authorities also evacuated the building's cleaning crews, who were not injured, Romano said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known this morning, but police said it did not appear suspicious.
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