First fires

Still another infamous first was the first reported fire at Marina City. On the evening of August 30, 1962, smoke was seen coming from near the top of the west tower. However, by the time Engine 13 arrived from two blocks away, the smoke was gone. A construction company spokesperson said wooden crates had been burning on the 45th floor.

There were no injuries and damage was minor, but crowds were treated to bigger smoke on September 18, 1962. Scrap lumber from concrete forms caught fire on the 61st floor of the east tower. It was extinguished with water that was pumped up through the building.

The first fire in an occupied apartment happened on February 5, 1963. It was a small fire in the east tower apartment of J. A. Thompson that was put out by firefighters who carried hand pumps by elevator to the 31st floor.

No one was injured, and damage was estimated at only $500, but just nine days later, on February 14, 1963, 50 residents of the west tower were evacuated as firefighters extinguished several butane gas tank fires. The tanks supplied heating units that were drying new concrete. At about 10:56 p.m., a tank in a west tower stairwell exploded and set fire to five other tanks.

(Above) The headline the next day in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Residents on floors 21-28 of the west tower were evacuated for about a half-hour to the east tower. One of the tanks was thrown into the Chicago River while the others were left near the river to burn out. Damage was to the elevator lobby and stairway on the plaza level.

On October 29, 1963, welders cutting an opening for an elevator accidentally started a small fire in the east tower. A resident on the 43rd floor smelled smoke coming from the trash chute and called the fire department. But by the time they arrived, the fire had been extinguished.