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Fire Strikes Balena Restaurant Building

By Ted Cox | August 9, 2017 5:57am
 Firefighters clean up after dousing a fire at the Balena Restaurant building at 1633 N. Halsted St.
Firefighters clean up after dousing a fire at the Balena Restaurant building at 1633 N. Halsted St.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

LINCOLN PARK — Fire struck the Balena Restaurant building at 1633 N. Halsted St. Tuesday evening.

"Nobody hurt," said Fire Department Deputy District Chief John Giordano after the fire was extinguished before 10 p.m. Tuesday. "Everybody got out safe."

According to Giordano, the source and cause of the fire were yet to be determined, with firefighters on the scene investigating. Giordano said 37 companies and 114 firefighters and other personnel responded to the blaze.

Early reports from the Fire Department were that the "restaurant fire was in roof" and "spread to structure."

 Deputy District Chief John Giordano prepares to leave the scene of a fire at the Balena Restaurant building at 1633 N. Halsted St. Tuesday evening.
Deputy District Chief John Giordano prepares to leave the scene of a fire at the Balena Restaurant building at 1633 N. Halsted St. Tuesday evening.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

A Fire Department tower truck was called in to douse the fourth-floor rooftop.

Darcy Horath, spokeswoman for the Boka Group, which owns Balena, reported it was a "full house" at the restaurant Tuesday evening. The fire was first reported just before 7 p.m.

"Luckily everybody got out," she said at the scene after the fire. "There were no injuries, and they're still trying to figure out what happened."

Boka Group owners were on the scene, but too stunned to comment, although the actual seating area of the restaurant appeared to sustain minimal damage.

According to Horath, the second-story offices of "Late Night Catechism" had to be evacuated, along with the two stories above that.

The building is next door to the Royal George Theatre and across the street from Steppenwolf Theatre. Theatergoers were surprised to find Halsted filled with fire trucks and the street closed when they emerged after their shows.