Fire Damages Palos Hills Strip Mall
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A bakery, a tobacco shop, and a law office were damaged overnight, when a fire broke out at a strip mall in Palos Hills.
The fire started at Palos Hills Tobacco in the 10300 block of Harlem Avenue around 2:45 a.m.
When firefighters went in, they encountered heavy smoke coming out of the shop.
"It was pretty charged; heavy fire in the back of the building," said North Palos Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Chris Perry.
Despite temperatures in the low teens overnight, crews did not run into any problems with frozen fire hydrants.
"Actually, the hydrant was great right off the bat, so that's good," Perry said.
The chief said all the businesses in the strip mall had smoke damage, but the worst damage was to the tobacco shop, and a law office and a bakery on either side.
Harlem Avenue was shut down for three hours while firefighters put out the fire.