Extra-alarm blaze spreads to 2 vacant South Side buildings

Firefighters battled an extra-alarm blaze early Wednesday that spread to two vacant buildings in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side.

Firefighters responded shortly after 3:30 a.m. to the fire in a two-and-a-half-story building in the 5300 block of South Laflin, according to Chicago Fire Department Cmdr. Walter Schroeder.

The blaze spread to a neighboring vacant building and was upgraded to a 2-11 at 3:49 a.m., he said. The fire was struck out at 4:15 a.m. and no injuries were reported.

The building in which the fire originated was “unstable” after the blaze and the city’s Department of Buildings was called to the scene, Schroeder said. The cause was under investigation.