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'Chicago Fire' Filming Draws Fans, Gawkers to Ukrainian Village

By Alisa Hauser | July 25, 2013 7:17am
 NBC's "Chicago Fire" returned to filming Wednesday and selected Ukrainian Village for the first fire in the second season's premiere.
"Chicago Fire" returns to filming
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UKRAINIAN VILLAGE — The weather couldn't have been better for standing around and waiting for fake blazes, as a crowd of people were doing Wednesday afternoon near the set of NBC's "Chicago Fire."

Location scouts from the popular television show had chosen Ukrainian Village to shoot portions of the second season premiere, which kicked off with a "simulated blaze" inside of a two-flat apartment building on the 2300 block of West Thomas Street.

"I enjoy watching the smoke, the flames, how they put it all together," said Barbara Limbach, 69, who lives near the building.

Limbach said the same area was used to film portions of "The Mob Doctor," a Fox series that did not get picked up for a second season.

Despite parking restrictions and the street being closed off, most residents seemed happy about the fact the series had chosen to film on their street.

"It's fine. It's fun. It's filming, but it also means no parking," said Rondi Ingraham, 37.

Ingraham, who works in publishing, said she "didn't want to seem negative."

"It's great for the city. I'm all for the promotion of the city and jobs," Ingraham said.

A popular series with 6 million weekly viewers, "Chicago Fire" was picked up for a second season in May and joins five other television series and two blockbuster movies that are filming in Chicago.

In all, the summer filming is expected to bring at least $184 million into the local economy through jobs and local development.