(Above) Chicago Fire Department vehicles parked on North State Street next to Marina City on February 19. (Click on image to view larger version.)

March 9, 2015 – Condo residents who say they heard no announcements during a fire last month now have the fire department to blame, not their building’s management.

On February 19, a small fire in a trash chute at Marina City’s west tower produced large amounts of smoke. Some residents say that while their hallways filled with smoke, they heard no instructions over a new voice communication system.

On learning of this, the Chicago Fire Department took a closer look at what happened and determined that the firefighter who was making announcements did not push “all the correct buttons” and not everyone heard the first announcements.

Since then, according to Larry Langford, director of media affairs for CFD, “several crews from several firehouses on all three shifts” have been sent to Marina City “to make sure they are all well versed on the operation of the system.”

Langford says fire department personnel also “reviewed elevator control protocols and all procedures” in case of fire.

It took two minutes for the first emergency vehicle to arrive after a resident on the 59th floor of Marina City’s west tower reported the fire at 11:36 a.m. Langford says CFD cannot confirm how long it took for the first announcements to be heard by everyone in the west tower but witnesses say thick smoke filled their hallways for 20 minutes while they waited for information.

Langford says Marina City “is going to get special attention” to make sure fire department personnel know how to operate the voice communication system and that announcements are heard throughout the building.

Sprinklers inside the trash chute activated and the fire was extinguished quickly but says Nik Rokup, vice president of Marina Towers Condominium Association, “clearing out the smoke became a bigger and more time consuming problem.”