Heights Grocery Store Destroyed in Early Morning Fire

An early morning fire destroyed Parkway Foods in the 1400 block of Center Avenue on the east side of Chicago Heights.

The first call came in at 4:53 a.m. for smoke in the area, according to Chicago Heights Fire Chief James Angell.  

"When we got here there was a delayed entry because it was all locked up," Angell said. "There was no fire on the first floor. When we opened the roof, the flames poured out."

The cause of the fire was undetermined as of this morning but the state fire marshal was on hand investigating, said Angell.

With electrical lines being very close to the building Angell said Com-Ed was called to shut off the electricity, arriving "very quickly." About 170 residents in the area lost power.

That wasn't the only disruption the fire caused.

"Due to the low water pressure in the area we had to bring hoses from both sides of the fire, leading to Route 30 being shut down at Center Street," Angell said. "There were a total of 25 Chicago Heights firefighters on the scene including paid on-call." 

Angell said firefighters from Crete, Country Club Hills, Glenwood and Crete Township were all assisting the department.

There were no reported injuries, according to Angell, who said the building is a total loss.