Two firefighters were injured battling a massive blaze in Chicago's Loop early Wednesday, officials said.
The fire began just before 2 a.m. at a 23-story commercial building in the first block of South Wabash Avenue on Jeweler's Row, according to the Chicago Fire Department. Flames were contained to a fourth-floor office, though heavy smoke permeated the third floor and emergency personnel operated in zero visibility conditions.
Around 200 firefighters were on the scene of the fire, which was upgraded to a 3-11 alarm before it was struck out around 3:10 a.m., officials said.
Two firefighters were injured in the incident: one sustained an injury to the leg, and the other was overheated, authorities said. Both were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition, according to fire officials.
The building was mostly unoccupied at the time the fire broke out, except for a few people - two of which were trapped inside and rescued from the blaze out the window via ladder.
Koko Deveci, who owns one of the businesses in the building, was one of the people rescued.
"I didn’t look down," he said after the fire was struck out.
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"It was terrifying," Deveci continued, adding that the smoke was so intense that he couldn't see and he was scared and anxious waiting for the firefighters.
The fourth floor - which housed the office suite of European Jewelers - was "completely destroyed," according to fire officials. It was unclear if any other businesses would also be impacted.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
