Firefighters battled a fire that engulfed a large commercial building in central Fresno on Friday evening. The structure started burning about 5:45 p.m. at 367 N. Abby St. and firefighters were expected to remain on scene all night, said Todd Tuggle, a spokesman with the Fresno Fire Department.
The blaze, burning just south of Belmont Avenue, slowed traffic on Abby Street between McKenzie and Grant Avenues, Tuggle said at 7 p.m.
Tuggle said the structure — believed to have once been a church and later, a furniture store — has been vacant for at least a couple years. When firefighters arrived, there was heavy fire visible from the second story.
There are two vacant homes and one business close to the fire, Tuggle said.
None of those properties were damaged by the fire as of 7 p.m. and no one was injured, but Tuggle said there is concern crumbling walls from the commercial structure ablaze could topple onto those properties. A man found sleeping in one of the nearby vacant homes was evacuated, Tuggle said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation and the estimated damage is not yet known. Tuggle said electricity and gas to the structure was previously disconnected.
Five engines and two trucks responded and will remain at the fire, Tuggle said. Firefighters hadn’t gone inside the structure and were battling it from the outside.
As of 7 p.m. the fire was not yet under control, and 30 firefighters were working to contain it, Tuggle said.
Contact Carmen George: [email protected], (559) 441-6386 or @CarmenGeorge on Twitter.
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