Fire leads to evacuation at city hall; no one seriously injured

A fire that started in a City Hall archive storage room and prompted an evacuation of City Council chambers was extinguished in the Loop Wednesday afternoon.

Paramedics were at the scene “examining a few people,” but there were no reports of serious injuries, according to a post from the Chicago Fire Department on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The fire broke out about 11:15 a.m. on the county side of the building at 118 N. Clark St. in an archives storage area, fire and police officials said. At least five ambulances were sent to the scene.

Still and box are now struck on the provincial side of the city hall/province building. There was a fire in an archive storage room. Content fire quickly extinguished. Some smoke conditions are handled with fans and window ventilation. EMS checks on a few people. Address 118 North Clark

— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) December 11, 2024

Flames that burned the contents of the storage area were quickly extinguished by early afternoon
fans and opened windows were used to deal with the smoky conditions, the fire department said.

City Hall-Fire-2.jpg — A fire that broke out in a City Hall archive storage room, 118 N. Clark St., was extinguished without serious injury on December 11, 2024.

The city council chambers were evacuated during a meeting, which was postponed due to the emergency, a witness said. The meeting resumes at 1:15 p.m

City Hall-Fire-7.jpg — On December 11, 2024, a fire started in a City Hall archives warehouse, 118 N. Clark St., leading to an evacuation, but without serious injuries.

City Hall-Fire-6.jpg — On December 11, 2024, a fire broke out in a City Hall archives store, 118 N. Clark St..

Officials did not say how the fire started.