The Champaign Fire Department responded to a commercial fire at 212 S. First St. that covered portions of the intersection between First and Clark streets at 9:10 p.m. on Tuesday, according to METCAD scans.
At 9:08 p.m., an emergency respondent reported that he had spoken to an occupant of one of the affected buildings, according to METCAD.
“I heard there were pets inside,” the respondent said.
According to a METCAD scan from 9:16 p.m., the building was an unstable structure with a basement and multiple holes in the floor.
As of 9:16 p.m., respondents were still maintaining a “defensive structure.”
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Update: 11:10 p.m.
According to a written statement from Randy Smith, public information officer at the city of Champaign, CFD responded to a report of “heavy smoke” coming from a structure at 206 S. First St. by a passerby at 8:46 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Once on the scene, fire crews confirmed heavy smoke was coming from the structure and quickly upgraded the incident to a working fire,” Smith said. “Firefighters have deployed multiple hose lines and utilized elevated master streams to defensively fight this fire.”
According to the statement, no firefighters were injured and the cause of the fire had not been identified as of 11:10 p.m. on Tuesday.
Update: Nov. 8
According to Smith, the large body of fire was extinguished by 1:55 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
“Crews remained on scene until 4:50 this morning working to extinguish any remaining hotspots,” Smith explained.
Smith said the respondents never entered the building and took a defensive approach for the duration of the fire.
“The fire department never resumed interior operations,” Smith said. “The crew fought from the exterior of the building.”
As of 12:46 p.m., no injuries or cause have been reported.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
