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Logan Square Furniture Store Could Be 'Total Loss' After Fire, Owner Says

By  Joe Ward and Mina Bloom | September 30, 2016 9:42am | Updated on September 30, 2016 10:57am

 A fire broke out in a used furniture store next to Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Logan Square, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
Fire In Logan Square
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LOGAN SQUARE — A fire broke out in a used furniture store next to Revolution Brewing Brewpub in Logan Square Friday morning, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

Threads Etc., 2327 N. Milwaukee Ave., was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after 8:30 a.m., said Chief Juan Hernandez, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman.

The family-run business, which has been in Logan Square for 17 years, could be a total loss, said Phil LaFollette, who owns the store with his mother.

LaFollette said he isn't sure how the fire started. No one was in the store at the time of the fire because the store doesn't open until 11 a.m. 

"I can say we're devastated," LaFollette said. "This is our life business. And I really don't know what else to say except we're overwhelmed, saddened."

The fire was extinguished at 9:30 a.m., but investigators are still on the scene. There were no injuries, Hernandez said.

Hernandez said the blaze was mostly contained to the first floor that housed the resale shop. Upper floors appeared to be used for storage, he said.

The shop sells a wide selection of vintage and used furniture, some of it rare.

"By the looks of it, it looks like a total loss. I don't know ... I haven't been in there. But, you know, the smoke and water," LaFollette said, trailing off. 

Bart Salazar, 33, was one of several employees who came out to the scene after receiving panicked phone calls. He and other employees were hugging and crying as firefighters continued their investigation.

"I'm in shock," he said. "I can't believe this."

Neighbor Tracy Kostenbader said smoke began filling her home Friday morning.

"It was kind of scary," she said.

Though the extent of the damage is not yet known, Kostenbader said she hopes the building can be salvaged.

"I hope he keeps the building and it doesn't get torn down because I love this building," she said. "That's what I'm scared of, of some horrible monstrosity being built there."

 

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