Tucson firefighters battled a two alarm fire early Saturday morning in an abandoned historic downtown building, officials said.
A 911 call came in at 5:45 a.m., reporting flames coming from the roof of the building in the 400 block of North 6th Avenue.
The first fire truck arrived at the scene five minutes later, and firefighters went into the building to look for people, despite the fact that it was reported to be vacant, said Capt. Barrett Baker, a Tucson Fire Department spokesman.
The bottom floor of the building was clear of smoke and heat was minimal, indicating that the fire was in the attic space above.
The construction of the building proved to be challenging when firefighters tried to extinguish the blaze, as multiple remodels prevented water from getting to fire that was hidden in void spaces between the different layers of the roof, Baker said.
Because of the difficulties, a decision was made to fight the fire defensively from the outside of the building, and several ladder companies poured thousands of gallons of water into the building from above, Baker said.
The second alarm was called to the scene to assist the other crews and ensure that firefighters stayed fresh and save during the hours-long operation, Baker said.
Most of the flames were extinguished, but crews were still on the scene hours later, trying to extinguish hot spots in the attic space.
It took 14 units and 40 firefighters to battle the blaze, and no injuries were reported, Baker said.
The cause and origin of the fire are still under investigation, as investigators still had not been able to enter the building as of early Saturday afternoon.
#Tucson firefighters on scene of early morning structure fire near 6th Ave and 7th street. @whatsuptucson @TucsonFirePIO pic.twitter.com/0MBdf66d6x
— Mamta Popat (@mamtapopat) February 25, 2017
