JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --
About 75 firefighters battled a large fire Monday morning that burned through the third floor of an abandoned three-story building in Springfield.
The fire was reported about 6:30 a.m. in the former Job Corps building on West 3rd Street, across from Klutho Park. By the time the first firefighters arrived, heavy smoke was coming from the building and flames were beginning to burn through the roof.
The Jacksonville Fire-Rescue Division called a second alarm to get more units to the scene. Firefighter entered the building, but quickly evacuated due to concern the building could collapse.
Two ladder trucks were used spray water from above, and water used in the firefighting effort came gushing out of the ground floor.
The surrounding area was cleared and North Pearl Street from First to Third streets were closed because of the fire.
"We were kind of nervous, to be honest with you," said Springfield resident Lauren Crawford. "We were fairly close to the fire and it had a lot of heat on it."
"It felt like I woke up dead this morning, literally, because you could feel like your skin was coming off because of the heat," resident Denise Hunt said. "You could hear the cracking of the windows breaking out. The flames were enormous shooting out. It was scary. It was frightening."
No injuries were reported. An investigation into what started the fire is under way.
"There have been many reports about vagrants observed in this area, things of that nature that have to be addressed," JFRD spokesman Tom Francis said.
The building, believed to date to 1927, originally housed the Jacksonville Jewish Center. It has been vacant for several years.
The state fire marshal told Channel 4 the fire left the building unsafe and it will be demolished.
"It's unsafe for those individuals that may continue to want to go in there because of the structural damage," said Andy Redding, of the state fire marshal's office. "We've had the collapse of the second and third floor."
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