HUMBOLDT PARK — A fire broke out on the roof of a Humboldt Park church just before 12 p.m. Monday and was quickly extinguished, Chicago Fire Department officials said.
The still-alarm fire took place at Rebano Church at 2436 W. Division St. and brought eight fire trucks and a dozen police officers to the scene, said 12th District police officer Tom Povsner.
No injuries were reported.
Traffic was shut down from Division and Campbell, east to Western Avenue, as of 12:45 p.m.
The fire was apparently caused by "roofing materials" on the building while workers were up there, said fire department spokesman Larry Langford.
"It wasn't a major fire [but] it created a significant amount of smoke," Langford said.
He said materials like paper, tar, shingles can easily catch fire.
"Some of the materials caught fire," he said. " ... They use heat with tar sometimes, and occasionally it gets away from them."
Piles of burnt roofing material were stacked on the sidewalk in front of the church, after having been thrown down by fire crews who responded to the blaze.
Rebano Church is located just beneath the distinctive Puerto Rican flag which hangs over the street east of Western and Division and welcomes visitors to Humboldt Park.
A phone call to the number on the church's sign yielded a voicemail box that is not in service.
