May 25--Two Columbus firefighters were injured late Friday night fighting a large warehouse fire just north of downtown.
The fire in the 1600 block of Third Avenue at Railroad Avenue engulfed a building that was once the old Burnham warehouse, Fire Marshall Ricky Shores said. Units from the Columbus Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded at 10:22 p.m. Three firefighters were on the front porch of the structure when a large explosion blew them back.
One suffered a break of his lower leg and the other suffered second-degree burns. Neither injury is considered life threatening, Shores said. They were transported to The Medical Center for treatment. The firefighters were not identified.
It was after midnight before firefighters brought the blaze under control. About 25 firefighters and 12 units responded. It forced the temporary closure of the Norfolk-Southern rail line, Shores said.
The building, which is about 100 years old, is long and skinny and posed significant risks for firefighters, Shores said.
"It was a nasty fire," he said.
At 7 a.m. Saturday, firefighters were still on the scene and had not yet searched the building.
"We need to get in there and see if anyone was in there when it caught on fire," Shores said. There is a significant homeless population in the area.
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