On Saturday at around 9 AM local time, firefighters were called to address a fire in a “very large” and vacant warehouse at the corner of Colerain Avenue and Arlington Street in Camp Washington, Cincinnati. The location of the fire is near the former Crosley building—a historic factory and office building—however the flames had not reached it.
Cincinnati Fire Chief Michael A. Washington said that the fire, which began as a second-alarm response, quickly grew to a six-alarm response. Firefighters were eventually forced to exit the building and fight the fire from the outside due to the amount of smoke, the heat of the flames and a structural collapse in the building.
Nearly three hours later at 11:45 AM, Washington told reporters that crews had knocked out the main body of the fire and were working to extinguish other flames.
"We have a control on it right now," said Washington, adding that no one had been injured in the fire. "We're just trying to make sure that it does not enter any other structures."
"As a fire chief, these are the most dangerous fires, different than structural, residential fires. This is a situation of the unknown."
"We're going to continue to fight for awhile more today, and eventually they'll probably bring in some heavy equipment to start tearing the building apart," Washington added. "We'll have a presence here for quite awhile."
The crews added that they would be using aerial to get a better visual on the fire’s progression and any possible hazards. Washington said he was unsure of what caused the fire, and that it remains under investigation.