The fire spread to an occupied paper and supply company. Two more firefighters died in the second structure when a wall collapsed as they tried to limit the fire's growth. Prior to the incident, the fire department had been called to extinguish several small fires in the vacant building. These fires had been started by vagrants for warmth. In 1999, an incendiary Massachusetts fire in a 10-unit vacant apartment building was discovered by firefighters returning from an earlier call.
High winds spread the fire to several other structures.
4 Embers from a 1994 vacant Illinois warehouse fire ignited a plant a mile away from the fire. Because the local firefighters were still fighting the warehouse fire, plant employees had to use extinguishers until firefighters from another community arrived. Special Data Information Package, Structure Fires in Vacant or Idle Properties, or Properties Under Construction, Demolition or Renovation , NFPA, MAY 2000. Patterns of Firefighter Fireground Injuries, Michael J. Karter, Jr., NFPA February 2000.