Crews Still Extinguishing Hot Spots After Plainfield Building Fire

PLAINFIELD, IL — An outbuilding filled with construction materials and wood caught fire Sunday, resulting in firefighters working into the night to extinguish the blaze, according to Plainfield Fire Chief Vito Bonomo.

The Plainfield Fire Protection District was notified at about 3 p.m. Sunday of the plumes of black smoke coming from the 75-foot-by-100-foot building, located on the site of a construction and recycling center at 22957 W. 119th St., near the DuPage River.

The building had likely been burning for hours before firefighters responded but only became noticeable when the plastic canvas top, serving as a roof, burned away, Bonomo told Patch. The outbuilding housed discarded material that rose about 60 feet high.

Since there were no hydrants in the area, firefighters used seven water tenders to shuttle water in from Plainfield East High School, about a quarter mile away. Crews were utilizing roughly 1000 gallons a minute for about five hours to put out the fire, Bonomo said.

The chief originally expected the building to smolder and smell for a few days, but firefighters worked until 4 a.m. Monday to put out the fire using an excavator to move around the material. As of 10:40 a.m. Monday, crews were back on site, further extinguishing hotspots, he said.

"We did a very good job last night and this morning moving things around," Bonomo said.

Plainfield crews were assisted by firefighters from neighboring departments as well as by the Plainfield Emergency Management Agency, who provided lighting for crews to work into the night.