A basement fire in an empty downtown Elkhart office building early Wednesday morning caused an estimated quarter-million dollars in damage.

Elkhart Firefighters responding to an alarm on West Franklin Street found smoke leaking into that building from the abandoned former Chase Bank building next door.

They found a newly broken window and fire in basement offices.

The 5-story building filled with smoke which had to be cleared with fans.

While no one was hurt or found inside, fire officials report that they found signs of people having been inside the vacant former office building without permission.

Original story:

Crews are still responding to a fire at the old Chase Building on Franklin Street in Elkhart, however the road is back open.

Dispatch says the call came in around 3 a.m. for smoke coming form the building.

They believe the fire is in the basement.

No flames were reported coming from the building, but crews dealt with a lot of smoke.

The building is vacant and no injuries have been reported.