Demolition began less than a week after the last fire was extinguished.

Back in May of this year, I commented on the little-noticed fire at the former Federal Cold Storage Warehouse on North Broadway. I had remarked that a fire in such warm weather was suspicious.

While the weather was cold the last couple of days, I still have to wonder what is going on with all the fires on the Near North Riverfront.

Due to the lack of windows, extinguishing the fires was not easy, and likewise, if the construction of this cold storage warehouse is consistent with others, there is insulation, usually cork wood, in between two walls of brick, which can smolder for days.

The only way to fight the fire is to demolish the building, which is what is happening. When I took these photos Tuesday afternoon, demolition was already underway, and I’m sure more is gone as you read this Wednesday.

It is an incredible investment of firefighting resources, and when I stopped by the whole incident had already lasted 24 hours.

The end result will be one less warehouse in the neighborhood. But it has to be torn down; the smoke has kept the nearby Stan Musial Veterans’ Bridge closed, snarling traffic in downtown, which is untenable.

By the way, many reports have been saying this building is at North Broadway and Mullanphy; it is actually in between Hempstead and Brooklyn streets on the east side of North Broadway.