Over a dozen people escape high-rise fire in Loop

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More than a dozen people escaped a fire Sunday in a Loop high-rise located across the street from the Cook County Administration Building, where six people died in smoke-filled stairwells in 2003.

It was a scary fact not lost on William Andrews, who was working at a title insurance company on the 8th floor of 33 N. Dearborn when he smelled smoke and looked out the window and saw firetrucks pulling up.

“I grabbed my coat and briefcase and got out of there,” Andrews said. “I thought of that tragedy across the street, and my heart was beating pretty fast as I was going down the stairs. This is something that you just don’t expect.”

Around 1:30 p.m. , firefighters and paramedics descended on the scene as smoke poured from a Bank of America branch on the first floor of the office building. Firefighters quickly put out the blaze which is under investigation, officials said.

Around 15 people were in the 24-floor building at the time. Two adults suffered non life-threatening injuries and were transported to Northwestern University Hospital as a precaution, officials said.

Attorney David Belofsky was in his office on the 23rd floor with his sister Suzy Silverman and mother, Lee Belofsky, when they smelled smoke.

“We were most concerned about our mother,” said Silverman. “She’s not in the best of health. She was frazzled.”

In the stairwell, they met firefighters on the 14th floor who told them to keep going even though the smoke was getting worse.

“They said it would get better as we got to the lower floors, and it did,” said David Belofsky.

Several occupants had called 911 to report smelling smoke. Firefighters searched the building and stairwells floor to floor making sure everyone was out of the building, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said.

Another office worker, Stephanie Sainsbury was visibly shaken by the experience. “I’m fine,” she said with a weak smile. “But just really freaked out.”

Contributing: Rosemary Sobol