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Freeport fire department reports 13‑hour response to large structure fire at East Stephenson storage complex
Summary
A multi‑department response extinguished a major storage‑building fire after a 13‑hour operation involving mutual aid, heavy equipment and tanker water supply; three firefighters sustained minor injuries.
Freeport Fire Department officials reported to the council on a large structure fire at a storage complex on East Stephenson Street that required mutual aid and extended operations.
Deputy Chief (reporting) said the incident began about 4:16 p.m. after a grass/fire‑pit fire spread to a rear structure at 525 East Stephenson, then progressed into an adjoining larger building. Fire personnel confirmed a working structure fire and recalled off‑duty staff as conditions intensified.
Crews requested a MABAS division box alarm for mutual aid at 5:06 p.m.; the call brought additional pumpers, ladder/tower apparatus and water tankers from surrounding departments. The deputy chief said master streams and elevated devices were deployed and that the hydrant network in that area alone could not support multiple high‑flow devices at once, requiring tanker water operations. An excavator was used after midnight to open the structure for overhaul; final extinguishment and scene clearance concluded the following morning after roughly 13 hours of operations.
The incident involved approximately 120 personnel across responding agencies and an estimated 2.3 million gallons of water used to extinguish the fire. The deputy chief said three firefighters sustained minor injuries; all were evaluated on scene and did not require transport. Command staff cited challenges that included building construction and layout, access and proximity to adjacent structures, establishing traffic control, protecting utilities (ComEd secured power) and coordinating accountability across multiple agencies.
The report closed with department appreciation to mutual‑aid partners and a reminder that incidents of this scale require preplanned logistics for water supply, feeding and rehab of crews and heavy‑equipment support for overhaul. No cause or loss estimate was given in the briefing; the matter remains in the department’s investigative and insurance processes.
