DETROIT (WWJ -- No injuries were reported, but a historic Detroit building is believed to be total loss after a massive fire tore it apart, early Wednesday morning.
The Detroit Fire Department responded to the scene at the old Woodbridge Gallery, on Forest near the Grand River Ave. and Warren, a little after 4 a.m., to find two-story brick building fully engulfed.
WWJ Newsradio 950's Charlie Langton said the building hasn't functioned as a gallery in some time, and has been used to store cars in recent years. However, there may still have been some artwork inside.
Fire Chief Christian Spitzig said this is an occupied building, but no one was inside when the fire broke out, and no one was hurt.
He told Langton his firefighters fought hard to try to save the building.
"We pulled up, there was fire in the middle, blowing through the roof in the middle of the building," Spitzig said. "We made entry ... They tried really hard to get it, couldn't get it. So, we had to back them out for safety reasons, obviously."
At 6 a.m., Langton reported that flames were shooting through the roof, and smoke and fire could be seen from blocks away.
Five engines and two ladder trucks were needed to contain the massive fire, and to keep it from spreading to an adjacent three-story brick building — which they managed to do, Langton said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.