Residents and patrons of a popular liquor store in Elmwood Park took to social media to lament the business still being closed after a fire damaged the building earlier this year.
More than two months after a fire ravaged Binny’s Beverage Depot, at 7330 W. North Ave. in the west suburban town, work to reopen the location continues. Fire officials estimate the store could reopen around Memorial Day.
Kevin Flaherty, deputy fire chief for the Elmwood Park Fire Department, told Pioneer Press that around 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 25, an automatic fire alarm at Binny’s alerted the emergency dispatch center to a fire there.
The deputy chief said the first Elmwood Park fire truck arrived on the scene at around 9:38 p.m. Other emergency responders – who were coming from the north side of the village – were delayed by a train and had to wait for the railroad tracks to clear.
Flaherty said visible smoke coming from the storefront, as well as the size of the building, resulted in Franklin Park and River Grove fire departments also responding, along with the Norwood Park Fire Protection District.
No injuries were reported, and the store remains closed for safety and security purposes – since firefighters breached doors and the roof, according to authorities.
Representatives from Binny’s Beverage Depot did not respond to multiple Pioneer Press requests for comment.
Flaherty said an investigation into the blaze determined that the seat of the fire originated near some electrical equipment. It started on what looked to be a computer cart near the overhead receiving door in the back room after the store’s regular business hours.
“It looked like the cart possibly had some computer equipment that had been plugged in for charging,” Flaherty said. “It looked to be an overheating issue.”
Additionally, there was “damage to the roof directly over the back door and that was from the firefighters cutting a hole into the roof to ventilate heat and smoke. There was also damage to a couple of service doors. That was firefighters forcing doors to make entry into the building,” Flaherty explained.
There was also smoke damage, the deputy chief said.
“This is the first time I believe we had a structure fire there since that structure was built,” said Flaherty.
The Binny’s Beverage Depot website lists the Elmwood Park store as temporarily closed and calls to the store’s phone number also state the same.
Another Binny’s is located a short drive away in nearby River Grove.
The deputy chief estimated that Binny’s in Elmwood Park could reopen around Memorial Day after determining if any of the products exposed to smoke could be decontaminated to meet the standard to be sold.
“It was just an unfortunate accident but the positive part of it was that they had an automatic fire system. We got early notification and they had a sprinkler system. Two sprinkler heads, for the most part, contained and partially extinguished that fire,” Flaherty said.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.
