The fire was finally out by about 9:45 p.m., but the building was considered unstable, according to Fire Media Affairs. There were no injuries and no reports of damage to the tracks.



Winds hampered early efforts to control the fire, and fire commanders were afraid a truss support structure under the roof level of the builing might collapse, said Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. "Furniture stores are very hard to deal with," Langford said. "It ain't worth risking a life for."



The fire backed up traffic on surrounding streets, including Lincoln Avenue.



Angelica Campbell, 17, was on her way to a friend's house near the furniture store. She was going to take the Addison bus from Lane Tech High School, but a friend told her that something was happening near the Cubs game so she took the Belmont Avenue bus instead and got off at Altgeld Street, where she was told she could catch a shuttle bus going west.



"It was taking too long so I was like, 'I'm just gonna walk,' " she said. "It's Chicago, I'm not too surprised. Things happen here, especially in the summer."