DETROIT (WWJ) - Fire crews battled back a multi-alarm fire that broke out early Wednesday morning in a commercial building on Detroit's southwest side.
WWJ's Charlie Langton reported live from the scene at an abandoned group of businesses on Vernor, near Lawndale on Detroit's southwest side where one building went up in flames around 4 a.m. on Oct. 11.
The Detroit Fire chief told Langton crews arrived at the scene and found flames leaping into the air at 60 to 70 feet high with reports of people seeing the massive fire all the way from I-75.
"You have to give some credit to the Detroit Fire Department, that two-alarm actually became a three-alarm at one point in time and amazingly... within 50 minutes, the chief tells me that they contained this fire," Langton said.
But the fire couldn't been worse if it weren't for how the building affected by the fire was constructed.
"Give some credit to firewalls that are in this old building, probably from the 1920s," Langton said. "Those firewalls apparently did their job. We've seen it a lot of times when maybe they don't, but this time it did and what it did was prevent an entire block from being destroyed by the fire."
As of 7 a.m., smoke was still coming out of the building as crews remain at the scene to address hot spots.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Langton said squatters were allegedly living in an upper floor of the building and authorities suspect the fire began there.
Everyone made it out of the building when it went up in flames and no injures were reported. Langton said the squatters did not stay around when fire crews got to the scene.
"They're investigating right now. DTE just arrived on the scene, they're gonna make a check and see if there's any problems there," Langton said. "It doesn't look like there are any for right now."
Langton said the department did move out their big rigs as an investigation continues.
This is a developing news story. Stay tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest details as they become available. >>> LISTEN LIVE!