The fire is suspicious, but the cause remains under investigation, Judge added.
The fire was reported at 8:28 a.m. at 2931 E. Third St. at the corner of McGee Street, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch. No injuries were reported.
Crews did face some complications responding and battling the fire.
Firefighters were still tied up on another fire on Squirrel Road when the East Third Street fire began.
“We had a little bit of a delay getting a lot of crews over here,” Judge said.
The size and layout of the building also complicated things for crews.
“The building has been vacant for a long time, so it was heavily secured, heavily fortified and the building is very cut up,” Judge said.
The ground floor used to have multiple storefronts and there were apartments on the second floor.
“We had a dozen or so different exterior entrances to try to figure out where everything interconnected,” the district chief said. “So, there was a little bit of a delay in our crews getting in and being able to get to the scene of the fire.”
Once inside, firefighters were able to knock the fire down quickly and keep it from spreading to the entire building.
Judge said the building has not been damaged enough to warrant an emergency demolition, but building inspectors will be called in to look at its structural integrity.
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