Vacant building fire shuts down Kalamazoo intersection

Kalamazoo fire crews were called to a vacant building on S Westnedge near Cedar St around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning.

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Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Fire Chief, Scott Brooks told FOX 17 the fire started in the back and destroyed the roof.

The fire was quickly under control by about 5 a.m. according to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, though— due to the building's age— crews were still managing hotspots long after.

"The house was built in 1865 it's been divided many times over into different apartments, and those kind of things, we were able to quickly attack the fire and knock the majority of it down," explained Brooks. "However, it had gotten into some void spaces, and we've been chasing the fire throughout the attic space for the last couple hours."

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Firefighters managed to keep the fire from spreading to nearby homes, though at least one suffered some heat damage.

"The exterior house is covered in a asphalt shingle, and so that got really hot really quick," Brooks told us. "And so we did have some bubbling of paint on the house next door, but we're able to put a Water Curtain up and protect the other exposure so there was no additional damage."

No one's been hurt, but the road was shut down in the area to allow crews to safely work. As the night shift swaps with days, Chief Brooks says the main focus now is figuring out what started the fire and if the building is structurally sound, and contacting the building's owner for next steps.