Fire crews battle extra-alarm blaze at Brighton Park paper planton March 31, 2021 at 1:27 am

Fire crews were working to contain an extra-alarm blaze that broke out Tuesday afternoon in the yard of a Brighton Park paper plant.

The wind-blown fire started in a prairie after 4 p.m. and “spread really fast” to the yard of the paper plant near 48th Place and Christiana Avenue, according to Chicago fire officials.

As of 5 p.m., the fire had reached the plant’s main building, as huge piles of paper continued to burn in the back, fire officials said.

Crews upgraded the fire to a hazmat situation as flames spread to containers of acid at the plant, and propane tanks were being stored outside, fire officials said.

As a precaution, the CTA shut down power to the Kedzie station nearby for over three hours Tuesday evening, suspending Orange Line service entirely between the Midway and Western stops. Trains were running again by 7:20 p.m., and resumed stopping at the Kedzie station about an hour later, the CTA said.

No injuries have been reported yet, fire officials said.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

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