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Roof insulation from Wheeling's demolished Garden Fresh Market catches fire

Rubble from Wheeling's recently demolished former Garden Fresh Market store near Hintz Road and Old Buffalo Grove Road caught fire late Friday morning.

A member of the building's demolition crew was using a blow torch to cut pieces of steel for salvage when a piece of rigid foam insulation from the store's demolished roof caught fire.

Initially, thick black smoke was reported rising from the site.

"It looked bad," Batallion Chief Steve Kosick said. "But really there was no loss it's basically a huge dumpster of debris."

Firefighters extinguished the fire quickly, Kosick said, and continued to put water on it for about 20 minutes.

The store's roof also caught fire in May before the building was demolished. That fire was also put out quickly by firefighters, and there were no injuries.

Garden Fresh Market moved into a shuttered Buffalo Grove Dominicks in 2014, and most of the shopping mall at its former location has remained vacant since then. A liquor store remains open on the property.

Demolition of the building began in August, and concern was raised during Monday's village board meeting regarding the rubble that has been recently fenced off. Kosick said he has talked with the demolition crew, and expects the debris will be cleared within two weeks.

Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.comA Wheeling firefighter sprays water onto a smoldering debris pile that had caught fire at the site of a former Garden Fresh Market store being undergoing demolition at the intersection of Buffalo Grove and Hintz roads in Wheeling Friday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.comA Wheeling firefighter sprays water onto a smoldering debris pile that had caught fire at the site of a former Garden Fresh Market store being undergoing demolition at the intersection of Buffalo Grove and Hintz roads in Wheeling Friday.
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