Fire breaks out in vacant building near old fire station in Springfield
Springfield firefighters spent most of their Wednesday fighting flames in a structure next door to the historic fire station on the corner of National Avenue and Atlantic Street.
According to Springfield Fire Department Battalion Chief Brian Athen, the fire was reported at about 11:15 a.m. when residents of the area noticed smoke coming out of the vacant structure.
Seven crews, as well as the Springfield Police Department, responded to the fire and shut down a portion of National while firefighters got the flames under control.
Athen said they took a “defensive approach” to tackling the fire due to the condition of the building, meaning firefighters did not immediately enter the structure and fought the flames from the outside first.
“Once fire gets into the roof and up above the ceiling and the walls and the supporting members become weakened from the fire it makes it very unsafe for us to go in,” Athen said. “It’s a risk management thing, and you know we have a saying in the fire service that we risk a lot to save a lot.
"So if we have confirmed people trapped we will risk our lives to save those lives, if it’s a vacant structure we are very confident no one is in, we’re not going to risk it. We are going to do all we can to save the property but not at the risk of firefighters’ lives.”
To get better access to the flames, the fire department called in heavier machinery to tear down one of the walls. Athen added that with the building being made from a wooden frame, as well as its location, putting out the flames was more difficult than expected.
Officials said that both structures are abandoned, and utilities have been turned off. However, Athen added that once the flames are out, they will do a thorough search of the building and fire marshals will be able to begin investigating the cause of the fire, which is unknown at this time.
The historic fire station, which was built in 1912 and closed in 1968, was not damaged, officials said. Following the closure of the station, it was converted into a bar called Crazy Hats Lounge, which has moved to a new location on North Campbell.
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Jordan Meier covers public safety for the Springfield News-Leader. Contact her at jmeier@news-leader.com, or on Twitter @Jordan_Meier644.