CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities say a fire that broke out about halfway up the John Hancock Center, one of Chicago’s tallest skyscrapers, has been put out. One person was injured.
Flames and thick smoke poured out of an east side window on the 50th floor Saturday. The fire in a residential unit burned for about a half-hour.
The iconic 99-floor building completed in 1970 also has offices, shops and an observation floor popular with tourists.
The Fire Department said one person was injured but the fire was out. A spokesman could not immediately be reached to provide details.
Firefighters were conducting floor-by-floor searches of hallways and stairs to ensure people were safe, and advised residents to stay inside their units unless they had problems with smoke.
The cause is being investigated.
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The only skyscraper left that I am aware of with a “tube frame” design all the way up, the others were WTC 1 and WTC 2. Had this building been hit with a plane loaded with “lighter fluid”, you would have eventually had a collapse similar to WTC 1/2. Obviously this was just a small fire in a residential unit, but the design similarities are interesting to note. This type of construction not only has no structural concrete above grade, it also uses less steel then conventional steel framing. I’m not a fan of this type of construction, I like some structural concrete or masonry to be part of the construction.