Smoke and flames could be seen at least a mile from the scene of a blaze Saturday night on the city’s east side.
Firefighters with the Flint Fire Department responded shortly after 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, to the 2800 block of Robert T. Longway Boulevard for a commercial structure fire.
People saw heavy smoke and flames coming from the building. Flint Fire Battalion Chief Robert Winford sent a full response. They had four of our five stations respond to this (fire).
firefighters initially made an interior attack “then due to the conditions that we saw and how the smoke was producing and everything like that, we pulled everyone out and as soon as we pulled everyone out, we had building collapse.”
The west side of the building collapsed first within 15 minutes of firefighters arriving at the scene. Winford noted that side is where “most of the fire was when we first arrived.”
After making the decision to go defensive of the fire, Winford said a request was made for mutual aid including a ladder truck and engine from the Davison-Richfield Fire Department “so that we’d have some extra equipment to handle this and get this out within a reasonable time frame.”
No injuries were reported at the scene. A cause for the fire remains under investigation. Winford said Consumers Energy was called out to deal with a power line across the road.
Longway Boulevard was closed at North Averill Avenue and Commerce Street due to the fire.