Blaze Ignites in Lincoln Park Massage Parlor, Apartment Building

Emergency responders were called around 4 p.m. to a Christmas Eve fire in Lincoln Park.

The street surrounding the blaze, which ignited in a mixed-use building at 2632 N. Lincoln Ave., remained blocked off around 4:30 p.m. between North Seminary and North Sheffield avenues. The Body Work & Massage Source is on the first floor of the structure and two apartment units are above it, said Mark Fiorito, a DePaul University law student who is a tenant in one of those apartments.

"I was the only person home, I believe," he said around 4:15 p.m., while sitting on a curb outside the building. "My roommates had just left about 20 minutes ago and the girls (in the other apartment) weren't home, as far as I know."

The fire started while Fiorito was in the shower, he said. When he got out, the smoke detectors were going off.

"I smelled something weird, like burning, and thought maybe it was our dishwasher," the 24-year-old said. "But it wasn't. I went through the front stairwell and it was all filled with smoke. Then I called the fire department."

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Fiorito says he believes the fire started in the massage parlor, where firefighters were shattering the front entrance around 4 p.m. A side door in the alley was also opened.

Six fire trucks, one with its ladder extended, remained on the scene around 4:30 p.m. Several ambulances were parked nearby, including in the lot at 7-Eleven, 2600 N. Lincoln Ave.

Firefighters said they weren't able to confirm any details of the incident since it had yet to be investigated.

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