VIDEO of intense fire at Durango Supermercado, 1651 North Mannheim Road in Stone Park.
Stone Park firefighters and police responded about 11:00 a.m. Tuesday May 28, 2013 to a report of a fire at Durango Supermercado — a Mexican grocery store at 1651 North Mannheim Road. The fire was immediately upgraded to a box alarm at about 11:09 a.m., and upgraded to a Box Alarm to the second level at about 11:18 a.m. With the fire burning out of control it spread toward the west part of the building, then spread back toward the east side of the building when winds picked up. Winds at 12:30 p.m. were steady from the southwest at about 14 mph and gusting to 25 mph.
Greenish smoke poured from a rear storeroom after a Box Alarm to the third level was requested by fire command. The odor smelled like burning produce. Smoke also spread to the neighborhood just to the east-northeast of the fire — especially on 40th Street. Smoke filled at least one house on 40th Street directly behind the store.
Six apartments on the second floor of the 30,000 square foot building were destroyed along with the entire grocery store. The wall on the north side of the building collapsed.
Firefighters from Bellville, Bensenville, Broadview, Carol Stream, Chicago (Squad 7 and 7A from O’Hare International Airport), Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Hillside, Leyden, Melrose Park, North Riverside, Norwood Park, Rosemont, Schiller Park, and Westchester assisted Stone Park firefighters.
The store manager reported that the store was open when a fire was discovered in the aisle where the potato chips were located. A fire extinguisher wasn’t enough to stop the fire in the aisle. A witness in a back alley said there was another small suspicious fire incident previous to today’s major destructive fire.
The building was in good shape — a nice part of the neighborhood — and was just renovated last year. Today it was totally destroyed. A sign nearby said, “Welcome to Stone Park, Sister City to Durango, Mexico.”
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