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Firefighters Battle Huge Warehouse Fire

By DNAinfo Staff on December 20, 2012 10:10pm

 Flames ripped through a South Deering warehouse storing recycled plastics and electronics Thursday night.
Flames ripped through a South Deering warehouse storing recycled plastics and electronics Thursday night.
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DNAinfo/Geoff Ziezulewicz

CHICAGO – Flames tore through a large warehouse on the far South Side for more than two hours Thursday night.

The rampant flames at the storage building at 11600 South Burley Avenue left at least one firefighter injured, according to the Chicago Fire Department. The firefighter was taken to St. Margaret Hospital in Hammond, Ind., in an unknown condition.

Responders to the four-alarm blaze had trouble finding water sources. Water was taken from the Calumet River, about 200 feet west of the South Deering warehouse, about 8:30 p.m., officials said. Nearby railroad tracks were shut down for the hoses to cross them.

The fire was under control just before 9 p.m., officials said.

The building used to be Republic Steel, but it now houses a “considerable amount" of recycled plastics and electronics, officials said.

During the battle, a fireboat and helicopter tried to assist, but low visibility prevented them from fighting the fire, officials said.

The fire was in an “isolated area,” according to the fire department's Twitter account.