INDIANAPOLIS--Thousands of people were without power on the north side of Indianapolis for a brief time Wednesday morning because of a fire at an abandoned building.
The Indianapolis Fire Department says the fire started at about 1 in the building, which is on Fairfield Avenue near 36th street and College Avenue.
“That structure happens to sit next to an Indianapolis Power and Light (IPL) power station. The power lines that were attached to that power station were on fire along with the transformers as well,” says Indianapolis Fire Department Battalion Chief Rita Reith.
That meant firefighters had some difficulty getting water on the fire without injuring themselves, so they eventually cut off the power to the nearby grid.
“That, of course, caused neighborhoods to be without power. No firefighters were injured. It was basically a vacant building, so nothing out of the ordinary there, except for the proximity to the fire station,” Reith says.
Within minutes of firefighters arriving on the scene, the entire structure of the building collapsed, Reith says.
“The cause (of the fire) is going to remain undetermined at this time because the structural integrity was demolished. Investigators were not able to get in there and do an effective investigation because they were dealing with a pile of rubble,” says Reith.
The fire was completely under control at 3:30.
