Reply #8: High-rise fire in downtown Chicago

[seemslikeadream]

Langford said that as far as he knew there were no people trapped in the building.

The fire was reported about 6:30 p.m. on the 29th floor at the LaSalle Bank building at 135 S. LaSalle Street, police said.

Jim Rubens, who works at a law firm in the building, said he held hands with other victims as firefighters escorted them down a smoky stairwell.

"It was horribly thick smoke and the halls were completely dark," said Rubens, who was sweating and covered in black soot. "And we were trying to touch the person in front of you to see where we were going to."

Tom Smith, a lawyer who worked in the building, said a firefighter escorted him to safety in a freight elevator after smoke in a stairway turned him back.
more
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/na/chi-041206fire,1,6907581.story?coll=chi-news-hed

High-rise fire in downtown Chicago office building; 12 treated for smoke inhalation
ANNA JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

Monday, December 6, 2004

Fire broke out high in a downtown office building Monday evening, sending flames shooting from windows as firefighters escorted workers through blinding smoke to safety.

Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said 12 people were treated for smoke inhalation. He said he had no reports of anyone trapped in the building.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/12/06/national2127EST0779.DTL