A shoot near a “Chicago Fire” production set was just part of the “unbelievable” scene that unfolded Wednesday in front of AA Rayner & Sons Funeral Homes. A real fire broke out in the street, confusing residents who thought the actors were real firefighters who chose not to respond to the fire. Charles Childs Jr., director of the funeral home where the NBC show was filmed, told Fox News Digital exclusively that shortly before a suspect opened fire near the set, the cast practiced putting out a real fire while a separate incident was reported at the BUILDING SQUARE. Almost as soon as the actual fire was reported, authorities responded to the scene shortly after 1:45 p.m. when an “unknown assailant, armed with shoot a pistol a group of people standing in the 5900 block of W. Madison Street” near the city’s Oak Park neighborhood, according to the Chicago Police Department. Childs Jr. explained that the whole scenario was “chaotic,” as neighbors were baffled as to why the dozens of supposed firefighters on his lot didn’t respond to the fire down the street, unaware that the people watching put out the fires weren’t trained first responders but were actually actors. ‘CHICAGO FIRE’ STOPS PRODUCTION AFTER SCREENINGS NEAR OAK PARK SET, POLICE CONFIRM BRIEF ‘SCAGE ESCAPE’ “Chicago Fire” was being filmed when shots were fired nearby, in addition to an actual fire that broke out on the block, according to funeral home director Charles Childs, Jr. (Adrian S. Burrows) “We were honored to be cast in an episode of ‘Chicago Fire,’ and the crew was standing outside when all of a sudden they were about to do a shoot,” Childs Jr. explained. for the general scene in AA. Rayner & Sons Funeral Homes on Madison Street. “First, there was a fire on the adjacent block at 1500 West Madison. The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) then responded, and while the Chicago Fire Department responded, the “Chicago Fire” TV stars and crew were only a block away. so people saw the actors and wanted to know why they weren’t responding to real fire.” CHICAGO POLICE TO PUSH SOME OFFICERS FROM NEIGHBORHOODS TO PROTECT MOVIES: REPORT Charles said the confusion could have been the story of a best-selling book, as people rushed to plead for help from the cast, assuming they were first responders who simply weren’t responding. “At the funeral home, it was a fire and the actors were just doing their job,” he said. “So while all this was going on, some idiot used a gun and was shooting at people. We don’t know who the target was. We don’t know who the perpetrator was.” The “Chicago Fire” shooting (which aired in Season 10) happened near the funeral home where the NBC show was filming on Wednesday (Adrian S. Burrows) While “no one was hit,” the suspect fled the scene in a “dark-colored SUV,” and CPD detectives are investigating the shooting. “It was chaotic because all these activities were happening at the same time,” Childs Jr. said. “Why would anyone do that? There was a police presence. There were security guards. It was just an unbelievable situation.” He added, “It was one of those days. You couldn’t have written that in a novel.” CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE RECREATION NEWSLETTER “Chicago Fire” was filmed at AA Rayner & Sons Funeral Home in Oak Park. Taylor Kinney stars as Lt. Kelly Severide on the hit NBC show. (Adrian S. Burrows) Childs Jr. estimated that about 70 people were near his funeral home or on the production set, and that someone could have been seriously injured. “Someone could have been killed, accidentally shot,” he said. “We just don’t know what was going through that person’s mind. We don’t understand it,” he said. Several security personnel were on the scene of the Dick Wolf drama, which stars Jesse Spencer, Kara Killmer, David Eigenberg and Lady Gaga’s ex-fiancé Taylor Kinney. The cast of “Chicago Fire” was safe after filming near the production set on Wednesday (pictured in season 10). (Adrian S. Burrows) Amidst the sounds of sirens from fire responders down the street and police signals, Childs Jr. said everything was “so chaotic” and “confusing.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We can pray that no one gets hurt,” he said. “I’m not sure how many victims were displaced by the fire.” He added: “We are all thankful that no one was injured here.” Tracy Wright is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Send story tips to [email protected]
