Gilbert Schaffnit was in his Chicago hotel room Wednesday night when he got the phone call that his office was on fire.
The historic Fennel-Waldo House, 719 NE First St., built in the early 1900s and now home to the law firms of Schaffnit and Ted C. Curtis, went up in flames around 10 p.m.
A homeless man, whom Schaffnit has yet to meet, was walking by when he saw smoke coming out of the windows.
He ran to the nearby CVS and called 911.
"Had that not happened, we wouldn't have a building," Schaffnit said.
As it is, the building stands, but the fire has left its mark - the doors are wreathed with charred wood, and the lawn is littered with ash and debris.
No one was in the building at the time of the fire. Damage to the offices is estimated to total about $100,000.
Schaffnit said about 95 percent of the firms' files were totally intact as they were either stored electronically or in metal filing cabinets.
It took 21 firefighters about three hours to extinguish all the fires in the two-story building's ceilings, walls and floors.
Though the building has been condemned by the fire department, both law firms are still operating. They have temporarily moved into offices in the building next door and have begun the restoration process.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Schaffnit said preliminary evaluations have suggested it was an electrical fire.
Kevin Williams, an attorney who works at the law office located in the historic Fennel-Waldo House, looks through charred remains on the floor of the office, located at 719 NE First St., which caught fire Wednesday night.
